Buzz Magazine: March 18, 2004 by Buzz Magazine

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24odds & end OPERATION HELPING HAND Kick-Off Celebration Today! Are you a not for profit organization in Champaign County that dreams about having a project completed but you lack the manpower to do it? Operation Helping Hand is April 17-24 and it’s the perfect chance to make your dream a reality. Think big! You provide us with a short term project, supervision and the materials to complete it and we’ll provide you with the most important resource of all...volunteers! Don’t miss out on this great opportunity! Attend our Kick-off Celebration today! Thursday, March 18 • 11:30 am-1:30 pm at the Urbana Civic Center. For more information or to RSVP for the Kick-off Celebration please call Kathy at the Office of Volunteer Programs 244-7675 or Teri at United Way 352-5151.

OPERATION HELPING HAND is sponsored by:

SHUT YO SASS HOLE BOY! | MARCH 18-24, 2004

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Puffing away at Jon’s Pipe Shop (Page 4) ARTS

Author Helene Stapinski on Baby Plays Around (Page 6) MUSIC

Mendoza Music Line’s four bands to see (Page 10) CALENDAR

Jiggsaw shakes things up (Page 12) FILM

Serial killers on film (Page 21)

Arts | Entertainment | Community

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MY NAME IS MUNDAR AND I’M COOL KINDA | MARCH 18-24, 2004

BY MARISSA MONSON | EDITOR IN CHIEF

The Story

4 Puffing away at John’s Pipe Shop

A spicy, dry taste hits tobacconist Pat Callaghan’s taste buds as he smokes one of his “meals”...

Arts

8 “Beyond East and West” For the last two months, Beyond East and West: Seven Transnational Artists, has featured seven talented ...

Music 10 Local must-see list Every year at this time, something happens to me ...And I like

Calendar 12 Get ‘fabulous!’

PHOTO COURTESY | TV ON THE RADIO

Head to Nargile Thursday to check out Fabulous!, DJing with an electro-clash and ...

Film

20 The Dreamers review The Dreamers is the first movie to be released with the NC-17 rating since Showgirls, but ...

Volume 2, Number 10 COVER DESIGN | Adam Obendorf

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, Roderick Gedey Copy Editors Chris Ryan, Jen Hubert, Erin Green, Suzanne Sitrick Designers Chris Depa, Jordan Herron, Adam Obendorf, Glen Cochon, Sue Janna Truscott Production Manager Theon Smith Sales Manager Lindsey Benton Marketing/Distribution Melissa Schleicher, Maria Erickson Publisher Mary Cory

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Got an opinion? E-mail us at buzz@readbuzz.com or you can send us a letter at 1001 S. Wright St., Champaign, IL 61820. 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 337-8317 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.

he Illinois primaries have been decided. Election 2004 is in full swing, and candidates John Kerry and George W. Bush are going head to head. Kerry accuses Bush of not supporting firefighters at home and using the war on terror as part of a campaign platform. Bush accuses Kerry of not supporting homeland security and the war on terror. The back and forth begins. Will voters react positively to these campaign tactics? Today, we are in an age where 51 percent of the country is voting, leaving a staggering 49 percent feeling disillusioned about who holds political office. The tactics of “he said, he said” may hurt the polls more this year than ever. With soldiers and civilians dying in Iraq daily, the voting public needs results, and the petty name-calling between candidates is further isolating voters. Since the Watergate scandal and Vietnam, voters have looked at the office of the president with a different, more critical eye. With Bush’s hunt for weapons of mass destruction, the public is becoming more and more skeptical and disillusioned. People are losing their faith in public office. Dodging the issues by

MARCH 18-24, 2004 | BE A MAN, USE YOUR HAND

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BUZZ STAFF

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odds & end FREE WILL ASTROLOGY (MARCH 18-24)

attacking the opponent is no way to restore confidence in our officials. Candidates should utilize broadcast and print media to focus on their own campaigns, not their opponents’. With Kerry and Bush playing the “whodunit game,” voters aren’t hearing the real issues. When voters stop hearing the politicians’ platforms , they stop caring. There is a reason why the 18-25 crowd is not voting. If public officials start focusing on the issues and telling the country what their specific platform is about, not where their opponent is or is not, they will see results at the polls. Lack of participation in elections is a problem in the United States. There are people out there who work hard to get people out to the polls, but negative campaigns put those efforts one step backward. Politicians can get people interested in the democratic process again, but only by giving them something to be interested in. The back and forth potshots aren’t cutting it.

-M.M.

ARIES (March 21-April 19): For too long, grace has eluded you; you have had to fight your way through life. But now your luck is about to turn; your soul will get the refreshment it needs. To celebrate, imagine you're the one speaking in this poem by Theodore Roethke: "Near the rose, in this grove of sun-parched, wind-warped madrones Among the half-dead trees, I came upon the true ease of myself, As if another person appeared out of the depths of my being, And I stood outside myself, Beyond becoming and perishing. A something wholly other, As if I swayed out on the wildest wave alive, And yet was still. And I rejoiced in being what I was." TAURUS (April 20-May 20): In the first Matrix movie,the central character, Thomas "Neo" Anderson, gradually begins to suspect that his entire understanding of reality is a delusion. At a key moment, a mysterious ally named Morpheus offers him a choice between two pills. If Neo takes the red pill, Morpheus tells him, he will be able to see the truth he has been blind to. If he swallows the blue pill, he will sink comfortably back into the lie he has been living. I see the coming weeks as a comparable turning point for you, Taurus. Which will it be, the red pill or the blue pill? GEMINI (May 21-June 20): I'll tell you a little cosmic secret, Gemini. One of the best ways to stay on top -- which is where you are now, right? -- is to keep paying homage to the bottom. So as you harvest your good fortune in the coming weeks, I suggest you express your gratitude for the painful experiences that have taught you how to thrive. While basking in the glow of people's praise and attention, recall the parts of you that are still unripe. When you come home after a day of radiant success, take out the garbage. CANCER (June 21-July 22): Last century, Walt Disney coined a word for the inventive engineers who designed the rides and attractions for Disneyland: imagineers. In anticipation of the creativity I expect will flow through you this week, Cancerian, I'm going to describe you, too, as an imagineer. It's not that I expect you to literally invent a radical new variation on a roller coaster or anything. But there's a good chance you'll come up with brilliant innovations in the way you have fun. LEO (July 23-Aug. 22): What's the best way to get yourself in sync with the plans that the Goddess has for you? Follow poet Robert Bly's admonition to "poke holes in your habits." Here are a few suggestions to get you started. Strike up a conversation with a person you'd normally ignore. Write with your non-dominant hand.Try a food you've never tasted. Sprinkle seldom-used words like "sublime," "curiosity," and "reverence" into your conversation. Walk backwards

lap as he wrote, he covered his lower body with aluminum foil. But nothing worked until he fled to a quiet cabin in the woods. "It was like waking from a bad dream," he said, "-- the removal of all the reminders of art as a profession, as a way of making money or gaining a reputation.The book wrote itself in five weeks." I suspect that after enduring a period akin to Salzman's arduous warm-up, Sagittarius, you're about to have a cathartic five-week breakthrough of your own.

now and then. Slap a crafty grin on your face and wish for something impossible. VIRGO (Aug. 23-Sept. 22): Don't sit there passively, Virgo, hoping that fate will be nice to you. Be aggressive about cultivating good fortune. Drum up and track down the lucky breaks you need.To get you in the mood, I've infused the rest of this horoscope with subliminal suggestions that are scientifically formulated to make you a magnet for favors and synchronicities. (Combustion luster verve blaze.) They will set in motion shifts in your inner chemistry that will help other people see how beautiful you are. (Luminous flourish lucid mojo.) Soon you'll be tuning in to evidence that life is actually conspiring for you to succeed. (Lightning splendor wakeup fuel.)

CAPRICORN (Dec. 22-Jan. 19): Your imminent future reminds me of the archaeologists in Scotland who celebrated when they thought they found the remains of a ninthcentury Viking village. Upon further review, however, they realized it was actually the site of a suburban patio from the 1940s. Like them, Capricorn, you will probably be disappointed in your initial forays into the mysterious depths; what you unearth will rouse hopes that are quickly dashed. Unlike the archaeologists, though, you will eventually locate treasure lying beneath the discredited discovery -- if you keep digging, that is.

LIBRA (Sept. 23-Oct. 22): I'm always on the lookout for real heroes. Not the celebrities, athletes, and other fake heroes endlessly hyped by the mainstream media, but brave innovators who show courageous flair in standing up for what's right.The good news is that I recently located an actual hero, and he's a Libra. It's Gavin Newsom, mayor of San Francisco, a Rosa Parks-like figure in the crusade to extend a full array of civil liberties to gays. In his calm fight for fairness, in his skillful use of logic to deal with emotionally charged issues, and in his artful approach to breaking an absurd taboo against joy and passion, he has embodied the highest expression of your sign's potentials. I recommend that you imitate his approach in your own sphere during the coming weeks.

AQUARIUS (Jan. 20-Feb. 18): "Be born into the right family. Choose your chromosomes wisely." So begins a list in which Aquarian heiress Paris Hilton details her secrets of success. "Develop a way of entering a room that looks almost royal but NOT snobby," she continues. "Never have only one cell phone when you can have many. Eat only the worst junk food or the most fabulous food there is, but nothing in between. Only sleep in Egyptian cotton sheets with a 400 to 600 thread count." I offer you these definitions, Aquarius, in the hope that they'll inspire you to compose your own list.It's an ideal time for you to get very specific about how you plan to achieve happiness and fulfillment.

SCORPIO (Oct. 23-Nov. 21): In his book, America As Empire: Global Leader or Rogue Power?, Jim Garrison says America has changed from being a republic to an imperial empire. If you're liberal, you hate this development, and if you're conservative, you like it; but in any case, the deed is done. The genie won't go back into the bottle.The question now is,how will America wield its global power? Will it be a bully using brute force to serve its narrow economic aims? Or will it be a gracious sovereign, leading a movement to bring democracy and freedom to every corner of the globe? In my view, Scorpio, you're facing a small-scale version of this dilemma in your personal sphere. How will you handle the weighty responsibilities that accompany your increasing clout? Will you mostly indulge your selfish interests, or will you work for the good of all?

PISCES (Feb. 19-March 20): It's check-in time, Pisces. What progress have you been making in your work on this year's major assignment? As I suggested last December, 2004 will be prime time for learning much, much more about the arts of intimacy. So have you been shedding bad habits and unripe attitudes that in the past interfered with your ability to get the closeness you want? Have you sought teaching from experts who are wise about relationships? Have you vowed to seek unions only with emotionally intelligent people who take responsibility for their own darkness?

✍ HOMEWORK:

☎

Rob Brezsny's Free Will Astrology

If you became ruler of the world, hat three decrees would you issue immediately to begin the mass healing? Write: www.freewillastrology.com.

SAGITTARIUS (Nov. 22-Dec. 21): It took six years for Mark Salzman to write his novel, Lying Awake. When it was done, he told the "New Yorker" about the tortures he'd put himself through as he fought against writer's block. During one stretch, he shut out distracting sounds by wrapping a towel around his head. To discourage his cats from crawling on his

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CROSSWORD PUZZLE ACROSS 1 Contributed 10 Dance in double time 15 Top-grossing movie of 1990 16 Out 17 No matter what 18 First brewery to put beer in cans 19 Part of an office sched. 20 Screeches 22 ___ gestae (transactions) 23 Artist Mondrian 25 Finland’s secondlargest city 26 Point to the left 27 Rival of Venus 29 “Oh, really?” 31 Area of danger 33 Good way to go out 34 Energy producer 37 Cosmopolitan people? 39 Pounds, e.g. 40 Do taxing work

42 Souvenir shop

item 44 Lines descending from a common ancestor 48 Kind of principal: Abbr. 49 Pussyfooted 51 Hall-of-Fame college swimming coach ___ Thornton 52 Diary 53 “Ta-ta!” 55 ___ piece (alike) 56 Subject of a commercial trade ban 58 Actor whose debut film was “The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming!” 60 Radios 61 Oversees, with “on” 62 Doctor 63 Hurricane origins

DOWN

1 Ticker-tape

parade honorees 2 Major babe 3 Graphics machine 4 State ___ 5 Is advantageous 6 A tightwad 7 Peddlers’ stopping points 8 Flat 9 Boardroom worries 10 Breaks 11 Russell Cave Natl. Mon. locale 12 Text 13 Preoccupied one 14 Break points? 21 Studio site 24 Clipped the most 26 Desires to participate 28 “Sitting Bull” star, 1954 30 Davit 32 Behind 34 One who’s resigned 35 Freezes

18 20

19 23 27

37 40 43

41 44

28 31

51 54

55 59

Stop by each week to register.

Puzzle by David J. Kahn

36 1976 hit by Hall &

Oates 38 Earmarks (for) 41 Agate alternative 43 German self 45 Swindler

46 Spinning

group 47 Carnival units 50 Fendi competitor 53 Skin problem 54 Place to hold hops

$25 Gift Certificate given away every Friday.

57 Fig. expressed in

percents 59 Chi ___ (religious symbol)

Charity fashion show April 8! Models needed. Call store for details!

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MARCH MADNESS BABY! GO ILLINI! | MARCH 18 - 24, 2004

moviereview

COLUMBIA PICTURES

moviereview

SECRET WINDOW | JOHNNY DEPP

SECRET WINDOW â&#x2DC;&#x2026;â&#x2DC;&#x2026;

BY ART MITCHELL | STAFF WRITER

or anyone who has seen Children of the Corn, The Lawnmower Man or Pet Sematary, it is known that Stephen Kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s works, when put on the silver screen, can be very unconventional. It can also be said that some of Kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s written material can be transformed into deeply touching films. Sometimes, though, the adaptations onscreen might not live up to the reputation of the King legacy. At a glance, Secret Window appears to be a very promising film. Starring such acclaimed actors as John Turturro, Charles S. Dutton and the always entertaining Johnny Depp, the performances from these fine actors could do very little to overshadow the weak storyline. Secret Window is about a successful author, Mort Rainey (Depp), who is having some marital difficulties and moves to his cabin to focus on his writing, where he is stalked and violently threatened by a man named John Shooter (Turturro), who claimed that Rainey stole Shooterâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s story. Each member of the starring cast plays his part with believability and accuracy. One of the more interesting roles is the character of John Shooter. He is equipped with what looked like an Amish farmerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hat and a Southern accent. The only problem is that, despite the fact that Shooter is a few inches taller than Rainey, one still has the feeling that Depp could kick Turturroâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ass any day. That does nothing to take away from Deppâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s depiction of the timid writer. His mutterings around his personal maid, his witty comments to his estranged wifeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s lover and the inflection in his inner dialogue paint a clear picture of the character that King wanted viewers to see. This movie should not be classified as a â&#x20AC;&#x153;thrillerâ&#x20AC;? or â&#x20AC;&#x153;dramatic thrillerâ&#x20AC;? and definitely not â&#x20AC;&#x153;horror,â&#x20AC;? but rather â&#x20AC;&#x153;semi-thriller-thattries-to-trick-you-but-ends-up-being-predictable,â&#x20AC;? but the movie was still entertaining. If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re looking for a psychological thriller based on a Stephen King book, go rent The Shining. If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re looking for a â&#x20AC;&#x153;poor-manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;sthrillerâ&#x20AC;? that gets upgraded to a â&#x20AC;&#x153;middleclass-thrillerâ&#x20AC;? because of Deppâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s acting, check out Secret Window.

AGENT CODY BANKS 2: DESTINATION LONDON â&#x2DC;&#x2026;â&#x2DC;&#x2026; BY JANELLE GREENWOOD | STAFF WRITER

ow more than ever before, the pre-teen market is booming within the Hollywood scene. Disney alums and the Olsen twins have dominated this niche for almost two decades, but other young television stars like Frankie Muniz and Hilary Duff are following in those child-size footsteps. Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London uses the premise of the original boy-turned-secretagent formula to recapitalize on the success of the first installment. Unfortunately, this film falls into the all-too-familiar stereotype of the many spy kid films released in the past year, such as Catch That Kid and Spy Kids 3-D: Game Over, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not without its charm either. Cody Banks (Frankie Muniz) returns as a CIA agent sent on a mission to London to retrieve a stolen mind-control device. Unbeknownst to Cody, his CIA mentor plans to use this device to control foreign dignitaries as well as the president, and the CIA knows that only Cody can reclaim it for the agency. While in London, the CIA places Cody in an elite youth orchestra at an English country estate, undercover, along with his new handler Derek (Anthony Anderson), who poses as the estateâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s chef. Together, these two must discreetly fit into to their new surroundings while carrying out their operation without the students or the staff finding out. Cody knows all the tricks of the trade, which feels somewhat preposterous given his young age of 16. Nevertheless, all the gadgets and fast-moving sequences should attract a younger audience who enjoy a good 007 re-

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WINNER! Golden Palm at Cannes 2003

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RIVER (R) Fri. & Sun. TAKING LIVES (R) Fri. & Sat. MYSTIC Thu. 12:50 4:00 7:00 9:50 12:30 2:50 5:10 7:30 9:50 12:10 -Sat. 12:50 4:00 9:50 Sun. - Thu. 12:30 2:50 5:10 7:30 9:50 â&#x2014;&#x2020; SECRET WINDOW (PGâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;13) ETERNAL SUNSHINE (R) Fri. - (2 SCREENS) Fri. & Sat. 12:30 Thu. 12:40 3:00 5:20 7:40 10:00 1:15 2:50 3:20 5:00 5:30 7:10 7:40 9:40 10:00 11:50 DAWN OF THE DEAD (R) Fri. Sun. - Thu. 12:30 1:15 2:50 & Sat. 12:40 2:50 5:00 7:30 3:20 5:00 5:30 7:10 7:40 9:40 10:00 9:50 12:10 Sun. - Thu. 12:40 2:50 5:00 7:30 9:50 STARSKY & HUTCH (PGâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;13) (2 SCREENS) Fri. & Sat. 12:20 50 FIRST DATES (PGâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;13) Fri. 12:40 2:40 3:00 5:00 5:20 7:20 & Sat. 1:00 3:00 5:10 7:20 9:30 7:40 9:40 10:00 12:10 11:40 Sun. - Thu. 12:20 12:40 2:40 Sun. - Thu. 1:00 3:00 5:10 7:20 3:00 5:00 5:20 7:20 7:40 9:40 9:30 10:00 CODY BANKS 2 (PG) Fri. & Sat. 12:30 2:50 5:10 7:30 9:50 PASSION OF CHRIST (R) (2 SCREENS) Fri. - Thu. 1:15 2:00 12:05 Sun. - Thu. 12:30 2:50 5:10 4:15 5:00 7:00 8:00 9:45 7:30 9:50 TWISTED (R) Fri. & Sat. 12:40 TEEN DRAMA QUEEN (PG) 3:00 5:20 7:40 10:00 12:20 Fri. - Thu. 12:30 2:50 5:10 Sun. - Thu. 12:40 3:00 5:20 7:40 10:00 EUROTRIP (R) Fri. & Sat. 7:10 9:30 11:50 Sun. - Thu. 7:10 9:30 BELLEVILLE (PGâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;13) Fri. & Sat. 1:00 3:00 5:20 7:20 9:20 11:20 Sun. - Thu. 1:00 3:00 5:20 7:20 RETURN OF THE KING (PGâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;13) 9:20 Fri. - Thu. 12:20 4:20 8:20 HIDALGO (PGâ&#x20AC;&#x201C;13) Fri. - Thu. 1:00 4:00 7:00 9:50

MONSTER (R) Fri. & Sat. 12:20 Sneak Preview: GIRL NEXT 2:40 5:00 7:20 9:40 12:15 DOOR (R) Sat. 7:30 Sun. - Thu. 12:20 2:40 5:00 7:20 9:40 Showtimes for 3/19 thru 3/25

intro

MARCH 18-24, 2004 | I PAY PEOPLE TO EAT GOO

News of the weird March Madness pays some bettors, Also, in the Last Month Bright Ideas FIRST THINGâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S FIRST...

so why not pay the players? BY MICHAEL COULTER | CONTRIBUTING WRITER

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enactment, and thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also part of the filmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s appeal. In the never-ending attempt to make entertaining childrenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s movies, more adult themes are being transformed into kid-friendly versions. Mini James Bonds are showing up all over the place. But as much as spy themes are mature, it must be remembered that first and foremost, this film was made for kids. Many adults, however, will take their kids to see it, so it needs to appeal to them as well. Andersonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s subtle, wise-cracking humor will appeal to adults. During one scene while he attempts to break apart an explosive pellet disguised as a Mento, he tells Cody and another agent that they should â&#x20AC;&#x153;never bother a brother breakinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; down at the apothecary table.â&#x20AC;? Aside from the humor, though, the plot lacks enough depth to really make it believable. Then again, this phenomenon comes as no surprise for the genre. Most secret agent, spy-based action films tend to gloss over details in exchange for fast-paced scenes that move the movie along. The film does not gain the strength it needs to better clarify itself, especially given that it never really explains how the stolen device actually works and how it gets into the hands of the villains so easily. However, too much detail will inevitably bore kids, for whom the film was intended, so it does a decent job at keeping them interested without completely losing all value. Frankie Muniz also uses his mass appeal, which might come from working on such a successful sitcom, to carry a film primarily on his own. Very few child stars can ride on their name alone, but Muniz adds a sense of humility to the role, which he uses quite a bit as the always compromising middle child of Malcolm in the Middle. Overall, Munizâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s talents lend support and charm to a movie in an otherwise overdone genre.

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3!6/9 METRO GOLDWYN MAYER

3/17/04

hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a familiar sight this time of year that gives me vast amounts of joy: teams cutting down the net after a basketball victory in the NCAA. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not sure what it says for higher education when seemingly intelligent college students excitedly climb up a ladder with a pair of scissors and then wave to the crowd Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve always been warned not to run with scissors, for Christâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sake. I would assume not climbing a ladder with them should be a given. For as much joy as we get from college athletes, we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t seem to take very good care of them. While their classmates are re-enacting â&#x20AC;&#x153;Caligulaâ&#x20AC;? on spring break, basketball players are working their asses off trying to win one more game in the NCAA tourney. How many business students would spend their week off at a big accounting tournament? When engineering students depart Daytona Beach, do they leave behind the robots they created on their time off? Actually, it gives me chills to imagine exactly what they might have left behind, but you get the point. Much is expected from these young players and it seems we do nothing but make their jobs harder. The big argument is that they get a free education, and yes, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s great, but what kind of education is it? Would it be fair to put an intramural team up against our Fighting Illini in a game of basketball? I would guess not. The Illini are big, practice all the time, and have a talent for basketball. They are some of the best players around. They would kick an intramural teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s ass. It wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be fair. Well, reverse that. Why is it fair for basketball players to compete against scholars in the classroom? They are some of the best students around. These students are smart, study all the time, and have a knack for learning. These students also donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to travel twice a week to another campus to study, but get to stay right here the whole time. They donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t practice studying three hours a day. They donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t spend a couple of hours everyday watching videotape of the last class they had learning what they could have done better. They only concentrate on school, a luxury athletes donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t really enjoy for a good chunk of the school year. The fact that student athletes succeed at all is sort of beyond me. I made it through college in four years, with grades that were less than stellar, and I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t do a damned thing besides study and drink. If I had been playing

basketball every day on top of the studying and the intoxication, I might have actually managed to end up with a grade point in negative numbers. Besides, letâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s face it, I went to Eastern Illinois University. I wasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t exactly competing against the best and brightest in the nation, only the highest. One thing that made it easier for me was that I stayed away from learning in the summer and spent the whole time working a regular job for three or four months. I could usually make enough money over that time to keep me afloat for most of the school year. At the very least, it kept me from asking my parents for money before Thanksgiving. I didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to worry about money. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also nice for college athletes. They donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have to worry about money either, since they arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t supposed to have any. We want to keep our college sports clean, so we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t feel the need to pay them anything for their efforts. That canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be right. If you were a member of a 10-man group that was consistently one of the top 20 groups in the nation, wouldnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t you expect to get paid pretty well for it? If you were putting in a 60hour week on a regular basis, youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d expect to get some overtime pay. If your company used money made from your division to subsidize its other divisions, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m guessing your division would be looked at as very important and you would be paid accordingly. That doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t happen in college basketball. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m not saying they should be making million of dollars a year, even hundreds of thousands, but something like $5,000 would have to make their lives a little easier. Hell, us regular citizens sometimes make that much if weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re the winner in our NCAA pool. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s almost funny when you think about it. Millions of dollars are exchanged by everyone during March Madness, yet the guys responsible for playing the games themselves donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t get a freaking dime from it. These players are celebrities, both locally and sometimes nationally. A few of them will go on to have their payday in the NBA, but most of them wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t. Many of them will leave with an education, except the ones who play for Cincinnati, which hasnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t managed to allow anyone to slip through the cracks and graduate for several years now. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll all have the memories of their college years. They better hold on to them, too. They wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have enough money to buy new ones.

Michael Coulter is a videographer at Parkland College. He writes a weekly e-mail column, â&#x20AC;&#x153;This Sporting Lifeâ&#x20AC;? and has hosted several local comedy shows.

Ms. Farrah Daly, 27, who told officers (upon her arrest for allegedly stealing $1 million in jewels from her employer) that she was too â&#x20AC;&#x153;cuteâ&#x20AC;? to go to prison, was sentenced to three years in prison (Akron, Ohio). And a 30-year-old man challenged as unconstitutional the police search of his 18-month-old sonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s diaper that produced a stash of cocaine (a search the police defended as legal, in that they had noticed a â&#x20AC;&#x153;large loadâ&#x20AC;? in the diaper (Evansville, Ind.). And a restaurant selling only dishes made with Hormel Spam opened in an upscale shopping mall in Manila, Philippines.

Recurring Themes A suspected prostitute became the latest police detainee to commandeer a patrol car and drive it away after twisting her body to move her cuffed hands from behind her to the front of herâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;all in a briefer time than it took officers to walk around the outside the car (Kensington, Pa., February). And a Harrods Estates broker announced that he had sold a private, one-car parking space in the tony Knightsbridge section of London for the equivalent of US$187,500.

â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Mile High Outfitters, a backcountry expedition organizer in Challis, Idaho, has petitioned the U.S. Forest Service for permission to install three commercial, recreational hot tubs smack in the middle of an unspoiled wilderness area, and the service is now considering the proposal (the public comment period having ended early this month). Each tub would require 1,250 gallons of water, heated by wood-burning stove, replenished every three days in-season, even though motorized vehicles to bring the water in are not now permitted. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Burnsville, Minn., according to city planner Mike Niewind, hopes to solve some garbage, energy, odor and environmental concerns all in one project by expanding its landfill, by 2007, to create an electricity-producing methane plant (to power 3,000 homes) underneath an 18-hole golf course that will be built on a manmade, pristine, 100-foot-high plateau offering scenic views of the Mississippi River Basin.

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MARCH 18-24, 2004

buzz

Patrick Callaghan, owner of Jon's Pipe Shop, lights his pipe. He has been the shop's owner since 1978.

A brief history of serial killers on film BY JASON CANTONE | STAFF WRITER

TAKING LIVES A TAKING LIVES | ANGELINA JOLIE

★★ BY JASON CANTONE | STAFF WRITER

Tobacconist Pat Callaghan converses with a friend while smoking his pipe.

time they air out the smoke is when someone comes in with a Marlboro Light or some other form of what they call paper and crap. Almost every day, someone will come in and ask if they sell regular cigarettes. And, almost every day, the answer is along the lines of: We don’t sell American commercialized cigarettes. We sell extraordinary cigarettes. Regular cigarettes can be found at a gas station, and we don’t sell gas. Rasmussen takes the last puff from his pipe and packs up his things. Time to get back to work. As he walks out, Melvin Armstrong Jr., another regular, comes in and asks Callaghan to polish his pipe before he smokes it. In the meantime, Armstrong walks behind the counter and c h e c k s o u t a Hans Neilson pipe he’s thinking about trading for an old pipe. Boy, that pipe will look good on you, that’s the perfect size for you, Callaghan says to Armstrong, a doctoral student in educational policy studies. The pipe’s thicker bowl and wide diamond-shaped stem seem fitted for Armstrong, a large man who accents his Nike running outfit with intelligent tortoiseshell glasses. He likes bendy pipes—pipes with a curved stem— with thicker wood because they look more intimidating. Armstrong sits in the PHOTOS | CHRISTINE LITAS

spicy, dry taste hits tobacconist Pat Callaghan’s taste buds as he smokes one of his first meals of the day behind the counter of Jon’s Pipe Shop. The almost-black sandblasted briarwood pipe lightly clenched between his teeth lets out the smell of burning leaves with a hint of minty sweetness. Soon that aroma mixes with the rich roasted coffee brewing in the pot behind the counter. That smells like some strong coffee, says Glenn Rasmussen. Rasmussen, a security officer for computer systems and data at the Army Corps of Engineers in Research Park, has come to the shop for his lunch break, as he has every day for years. He leans back on the lone wooden barstool in the back and lets out a sigh of relaxation with the first puff from his ivory-colored meerschaum pipe. Men have been relaxing at Jon’s for 45 years, from back in the day when a good pipe was a good smoke. That was before light beers were less filling and cigarettes had filters and nicotine warnings; when a cup of coffee was hard and black and without mocha or latte. In Jon’s Pipe Shop, which Callaghan bought 26 years ago before retiring as a state police detective, life’s old, strong flavors are still savored. Callaghan pours Rasmussen a mug of coffee,

WARNER BROTHERS

Jon’s Pipe Shop which prompts the men to talk about how they like their coffee to have a strong, whole-bean richness and natural earthy taste, just like their tobacco. I found some real good coffee at World Market, Rasmussen says. It’s called Kauai peaberry. Oh, yeah, I bought some of that, too, when I was there buying wines, Callaghan says. He’s trying to introduce his wife, Barbara, to the world of wines, starting with the sweet whites and moving up to the chardonnays, merlots and sauvignons. I can’t get her to try Chianti quite yet. The strong yet classic Italian red wine is a taste, he says, to be acquired. Wine actually goes good with pizza, Callaghan says, explaining how most Americans drink beer with pizza but that in Europe they drink wine. If Callaghan were to drink a beer with pizza, it would have to be a German Weiss beer or some other thick lager made of only the best wheat or barley. Why would someone want to drink a beer that’s ‘less filling’ with no taste?” he asked. That would be like someone sucking down a tasteless cigarette made of what can barely be deemed tobacco, unlike the Bill Bailey’s Balk and Blend tobacco made with Turkish latakia leaves that now wafts through the air from Rasmussen’s pipe. The dry-smoking tobacco with less sweetness and a harsher, smokier flavor that comes from the burning latakia leaves creates a thicker fog in the air, but no one seems to mind. The only

Making the cut:

Puffing away A look inside

BY ANGELA FORNELLI | STAFF WRITER

film

MARCH 18 - 24, 2004 | MURDER, SEX AND ANGELINA JOLIE ... SOUNDS GOOD TO ME

wooden chair to look more closely at the pipe. He turns it at every angle in his hand and looks closely at the briarwood to see the grain flowing perfectly down the stem and up the bowl, as if the shape of the pipe was determined by the wood’s natural grain. Armstrong’s peaceful admiring session is interrupted by the ring of the bells on the shop’s door. He looks up quickly to see John Bouseman, who has been coming here since the shop opened in 1959. He comes more often now that he’s retired as an entomologist. There’s the man! Armstrong says as he gets up from the chair to let his respectable elder sit. Bouseman slowly takes off his many cold-weather layers while Armstrong exchanges pipes with Callaghan and admires the Hans Neilson. Bouseman pulls out a basic straight-stemmed dark brown pipe and shows it to Armstrong. Look at this thing I found in my drawer, he says while handing it to Armstrong. Look at the grain in that baby. They got it just right. It’s not typical for Bouseman to smoke an Italian Cesare straight bulldog-shaped pipe like this one, but he bought it because the grain is like a work of art. The flame grain starts at the stem with narrow width between strokes and flames out wider and wider as it moves up the bowl of the pipe. Then it hits a thin line engraved around the bowl, separating the flame grain from the small round-circled, bird’s-eye grain around the top edge that was created by cutting tangential to the grain. Armstrong turns on the table lamp and inspects the pipe under the light. That’s got a nice shape, he says. It’s a classic bulldog, Bouseman says while pinching his new favorite English tobacco mixture, Brebbia, made of Syrian latakia. Most of Bouseman’s pipes fit the classic image. He holds up a Rhodesian-shaped bowl and explains that this pipe would be the one you’d see in a dictionary under the definition of pipe. Almost all of his pipes have a Rhodesian shape

than Hawke suffered an emotional breakdown after splitting with his wife Uma Thurman. Angelina Jolie dealt with custody concerns, a divorce and two huge box office bombs last year. Both occasionally excellent actors deserve a real hit to bring them back to the Hollywood A-List but unfortunately, Taking Lives isn’t going to be it. Taking Lives tells the story of a man who, yes, takes over people’s lives and starts living as them. After an opening that desperately attempts to appear indie with handheld cameras and gritty cinematography, the film shoves viewers into a typical Hollywood thriller that lacks originality. Director P.J. Caruso stated that the film is about “who we are and who we think we are.” Well, Caruso probably thinks he’s a great director after FX’s The Shield. He’s wrong. He might also think the concept of a serial killer is so intriguing that you don’t need to do much to make a thrilling film. Again, he is wrong. When Jolie first appears on screen, she’s lying motionless in a crypt, smiling. The motive here is to explain that her character is a successful FBI profiler who uses unconventional methods. But any of her other methods are rarely shown on screen, and she spends more time standing around looking pretty than disproving that her Oscar win for Girl, Interrupted was a complete fluke of Marisa Tomei proportions. Jolie plays a darkly sexual version of Ashley Judd’s last four characters and will make viewers long for Judd to step into the only role she plays. As an art dealer thrown into the serial killer’s world, the plot’s predictable “surprises” flesh out Hawke’s role, but his performance pales in comparison to Edward Norton’s subtle nuances in Primal Fear. Brilliant composer Philip Glass has created the musical score for 18 films in the past seven years and rarely contributes to a lessthan-stellar film—until now. Hopefully, his work for Oscar-winner The Fog of War will cover for his missteps with this film. Jolie’s acting is as flat and boring as a drive down I-57 at night, but the film’s major fault is that it rarely attempts to be original. When Jolie eventually sacrifices all FBI integrity to have sex surrounded by pictures of corpses, it still won’t keep viewers intrigued. With the exception of one good thrill, Taking Lives has nothing to contribute to the serial killer genre.

s she walks slowly down the dark corridor, doing her best to ignore the pungent odor of death and semen-coated walls, she fixates on the light at the end of the gauntlet. Walking past a dark, grotesque shell of a man smashing his face against the bars, she reaches her destination: the w i n d o w l e s s , glassed-in cell of Hannibal Lecter. Perfectly still, he stands at attention, watching her with a chilling look of hidden evil. Many consider 1991’s Oscar-winning The Silence of The Lambs the pinnacle of the serial killer genre, which got its start more than 70 years ago. Obviously spawned from classic horror films, the world’s first serial killer film dates back to 1931 when Fritz Lang’s M brought the story of real-life killer the Vampire of Dusseldorf (so named because he drank the blood of some victims) to cinema audiences. It premiered in Berlin to the standing ovations of an enthusiastic audience, but the serial killer genre would not be continued for 12 years. In fact, the film itself became controversial and was outlawed by the Nazis, becoming a focal point of anti-Semitic propaganda. Because Jewish actor Peter Lorre portrayed a serial killer, the film Der Ewige Jude (The Eternal Jew) went so far as to state that Jews such as Lorre aim only to destroy the principles of social justice by portraying serial killers with compassion. The concept of bringing sympathy to the story of a murderer still evokes cinema discussion today. While Charlize Theron’s Oscarwinning performance in Monster was hailed as a physical and emotional transformation of epic proportions, some critics criticized the film for acting more like a posthumous death row appeal for convicted killer Aileen Wuornos. Anthony Hopkins’s Oscar-winning performance as Lecter also brought about criticism that the film makes the serial killer one who audiences like to “root for.” But isn’t that a facet of film which has existed since the beginning, when audiences rooted for such classical horror icons as Dracula? Speaking of Dracula, the 1970 Italian film Necropolis serves as a

good example of how the public’s fascination with serial killer films has skyrocketed. The story of Countess Elizabeth Bathory is one which would make any film executive foam at the mouth before offering millions for the story’s rights. Bathory (a relative of Vlad Dracula) tortured more than 600 girls to death during her lifetime. She believed that their young blood would rejuvenate her skin and make her look younger. While it might be true that the world has never seen a female Mozart, Bathory was definitely the female equivalent of Jack the Ripper and many think that Bram Stoker ’s Dracula was based upon her and not any male counterpart. Although she died in 1614, it took more than 350 years to bring her story to the screen. When it became an English-language film in 1970, Hammer Films made it more of a fantasy, as the woman portraying Bathory actually did become younger while bathing in the blood. Modern American society would never support a wait of 20 years (much less 350 years) between an atrocity such as this and the big screen portrayal. After Wisconsin serial killer Ed Gein was caught, a book was immediately written and Psycho evolved. Although Scott Peterson is not a serial killer, and only an alleged killer at that, a schlock TV movie based upon his life appeared this spring before the trial even began. G e i n ’ s l i f e s t o r y a l s o spawned a series of serial killer films which aimed to be intelligent biopics on Ed Gein, Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer. These films aimed to bring interest to the study of serial killers and bring some prestige to struggling independent film companies, but were seen as too gritty and grotesque for a mainstream audience. Ed Gein (2000) allowed viewers to enter into the world of a serial killer, but the film wasn’t a completely accurate portrayal—although what film really is? One difficulty with the film was that the mother was given a little too much credit. For a

woman who tortured him as a child by beating him severely and holding his arm over an open flame, she is depicted as soft. Gein, a schizophrenic, is also depicted as having more control over the killings than crime files have shown. Ted Bundy (2002) followed this film trend by showcasing Bundy, who might have killed as many as 36 women. Even more so than the Gein film, Ted Bundy is a trashy exploitative take on the killer that seems to have been made more for a FOX special than an independent film fest. It focused more on the blood and gore but lacked all intelligence which could have justified the sheer brutality showcased onscreen. Dahmer (2002) showcased the homosexual acts, killings of 15 boys and cannibalism that made Dahmer infamous. Arguably the best of the three films, Dahmer used its independent film style to keep an edge and creepiness flowing through the film’s two hour entirety. American moviegoers don’t seem to care if the serial killer shown on film is real or imaginary, however. In the 1970s, John Carpenter helped launch the slasher genre, which is just a bloodier offshoot of the serial killer genre. Soon names like Michael, Freddy and Jason became the epitome of film killers and teenagers began to claim the genre as their own. Slasher films are like Rodney Dangerfield—they get no respect, but with classics like The Silence of the Lambs few and far between, they are keeping the serial killer genre alive, allowing more Americans every year to enter the minds of killers. buzz

TOP TEN MOVIE KILLERS 1. Hannibal Lecter Silence of the Lambs 2. John Doe

Se7en

3. Norman Bates 4. Darth Vader

Psycho

Star Wars Trilogy

5. Tony Montana

Scarface

6. Michael Myers Halloween 7. Michael Corleone The Godfather Part 2 8. Jack Torrance The Shining 9. Travis Bickle 10. The Shark

Taxi Driver

Jaws

This list was compiled by Glenn Cochon, Paul Wagner and AFI 50 Greatest Villains List. We know that there have been other quality villains in film, but they did not make our cut.

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MARCH 18-24, 2004

Q & A

he Dreamers is the first movie to be released with the NC-17 rating since Showgirls, but this thematically dense and structurally bold French film is no Joe Eszterhaspenned peep show. It’s an occasionally off-putting but provocatively poignant story of cultural escape and social unconsciousness that employs startlingly frank sexuality as a symptom of passive personal indulgence. When we first meet Matthew (Michael Pitt), a wide-eyed college kid from San Diego studying abroad in France, his narrow sport coat and frail figure make him look like a naive, life-size Jiminy Cricket. Faster than you can say An American in Paris, Matthew becomes swept up in the country’s culture of “cinephiles,” devoted film buffs who populate movie houses as if they were churches. But it’s the late ‘60s, and political turmoil soon closes the Cinematheque, forcing French youth to find another outlet for their emotional education. That proves difficult for Theo (Louis Garrel)

moviereview

SPARTAN ★★★★ BY SYD SLOBODNIK | STAFF WRITER ince the mid-1970s, David Mamet has been one of America’s finest playwrights—specializing in rich characterization and tersely delivered dialogue that’s loaded with passionate imperatives and retorts, pregnant rhetorical questions and vulgar, street-smart exclamations. When he tried his hand at moviemaking in the late 1980s with House of Games and Things Change, no one doubted Mamet’s skill at telling a compelling narrative as a writer/director. With his latest film, Spartan, he has evolved into a noteworthy stylistic director. Favoring a distinctly film noir visual style, Mamet and Director of Photography Juan Ruiz Anchia emphasize the darkly sinister world of a special agent, played by Val Kilmer, and his quest to solve the kidnapping of the collegeaged daughter of a Bill Clinton-like U.S. president. Interrogations are shot in shady offices with low-lit, blue-tinted light casting streaks across the room, suspects are stopped and beaten in alleyways glistening from recent rain, and nighttime stakeouts are executed at a fog-shrouded Atlantic coast cabin.

Mamet molds this intriguing investigation, not so much in the fashion of the worn narrative patterns of television crime stories, like CSI or Law & Order, but more in the style of the tight labyrinths of the espionage thrillers of Frederick Forsythe. Layers of clues slowly reveal a much more complex set of circumstances than a mere kidnapping. The hostage’s boyfriend, a fellow Harvard student, is an early suspect after a heated argument was reported. A mysterious clue that could possibly be linked to the victim is in the form of a strange postscript symbol that looks like “%.” A college instructor is suspected of having an affair with the captive woman; a Secret Service agent abruptly commits suicide; and a Boston nightclub and escort service are connected to a ring of white slave traders, who specialize in blondes for Middle Eastern clientele. All of these fascinating situations and sometimes loosely connected events are flavored with fine examples of Mamet’s unique, staccato-delivered dialogue—four and five-word sentences—that crackle out of the mouths of many creepy bureaucratic special agents and street characters, played by myriad Mamet veterans like William H. Macy, J. J. Johnston and a surprisingly effective, ragged and tough-looking Ed O’Neill. Val Kilmer as Agent Scott is impressively tough in a low-key performance that is at times reminiscent of early, serious Mel Gibson roles. And with his novice assistant, Agent Curtis, skillfully played by the mildly success-

Compiled by Jason Cantone

THE DREAMERS | EVA GREEN society, using a carefree hiatus of sexual liberation and cinematic imitation as a vacation from reality. With his baby-faced boyishness and feathery blond hair, Pitt often looks like Leonardo DiCaprio’s awkward kid brother. While DiCaprio finds swaggering charisma in his cover-boy charm, Pitt has an uneasy vulnerability that finds him roles as a disturbed loner. Matthew is anxious for companionship, envious of Theo and Isabelle’s seemingly glamorous life of mysterious artistry, and desperate to free the two from their self-destructive codependency. But The Dreamers is a lovely, sometimes lethargic movie about picking your battles and prioritizing freedom, and the film creates a complex critique of passivity. While the characters are consumed by socially-relevant media and the late ‘60s movement of sexual nonchalance, they remain disconnected from the political and cultural circumstances themselves. Essentially, they’re performers in their own self-constructed dream, and only revolution can wake them.

Diana Ross claims she already served time for her drunken driving sentence because she wrote it in her diary. The judge in Tucson, Ariz., who sentenced her discovered that she only spent 47 hours behind bars in Connecticut. Her prison of choice also orders out all meals and sends all of the female inmates home for the night if there are no female guards on duty. So, she ordered out free meals for two days and got to spend the night at home? This prison thing sounds a lot better than midterm exam week. Angelina Jolie announced that she will never play Lara Croft again, which is good considering film audiences announce they will never spend money to see awful Tomb Raider movies again. A South African magazine reported this weekend that Oscar-winner Charlize Theron has put South Africa on the map and done more for the country than anyone before. I wonder if they’ve heard of Nelson Mandela, because I hear he did a thing or two as well. Of course, he’s no Charlize Theron. French actor Olivier Martinez (S.W.A.T.) announced that he finds young models unattractive and is happy with 35-year-old Kylie Minogue. Does anyone else think the couple might have had a huge fight and this is his way of guaranteeing some makeup sex?

C-UViews Compiled by Roderick Gedey

SPARTAN | VAL KILMER & DEREK LUKE ful Antwone Fisher’s Derek Luke, the pair creates a nice variation on the teacher-mentor buddy film convention as well. The film’s surprising twists and conspiracyladen climax may turn off some moviegoers, but most will find Spartan to be one of the most satisfying thrillers in recent memory. With this and Mamet’s recent film successes, the 1998 puzzler Spanish Prisoner and the comical State and Main from 2000, he rises to the level of one of America’s most unique and interesting filmmakers.

SCREEN REVIEW GUIDE

★★★★ ★★★ ★★ ★ No stars

Flawless Good Mediocre Bad Unwatchable

Secret Window ★★ Teasha Powell Champaign, IL

“It started slow and stayed slow.”

★★★★ Carol Davis Champaign, IL

“I predicted the ending.”

★★★★ Madelin Woods & Heather Stocker Champaign, IL

In unison: “It’s got Johnny Depp!”

(From left) Glenn Rasmussen, Michael La Due and Callaghan pass the time talking and smoking.

with a sterling silver band around the shank of the pipe that connects the stem to the bowl. The style fits him, too, with its classic straight stem leading to the rounded bowl. When he lights it up and puts it in his mouth, it seems to go perfectly with his plaid vest and tinted glasses that hang around his neck. He leans back in the chair and puffs, the gentle warmth of the pipe’s bowl cupped in his hand. The bells ring again and in comes Benjamin Machalek, a student in philosophy who comes to Jon’s to hang out and talk with his elders about everything from Michele Foucault to the meaning of the word schaol in the Bible. At Jon’s, philosophical and literary discussions take place without a need for participation points, and ideas waft through the air like smoke. These conversations tend to be prompted by Michael La Due, the kapnismologist-in-residence at Jon’s, who comes in not long after Machalek. Even after La Due takes off his Sherlock Holmes hat, he epitomizes the pipe smoker image, with the elegant slant of his pipe’s stem leading toward the blackened briarwood brandy glass-shaped bowl accentuating the plaid tie peaking out through his V-neck sweater-vest covering his white collared shirt. The door bells chime and Freter Koln, a German student whose name La Due has been trying to master, walks in. Fleter, Frrreter, Frrllleter, La Due repeatedly greets him as Freter repeats back the correct pronunciation of his name. What can I get for you? La Due asks. The usual, Koln says. La Due turns to the display cabinet behind him and grabs American Spirit nonfiltered cigarettes, still trying to pronounce Koln’s name, which leads him to think of the movie he recently saw, Frida. He goes on about how well-done the movie was, and how Salma Hayek was perfect for the role as a classically-trained painter from Mexico. As Koln inches closer toward the door, Jaime Alanís, a Jon’s regular who frequently talks about films with La Due, walks in the door and adds to the conversation. Koln leaves but La Due and Alanís continue the conversation. The shop is becoming foggier with a thick layer of smoke as Machalek and Alanís light up and add to the smoke already wafting through the air. La Due interrupts his film conversation when he sees Armstrong light up an Italian Savinelli pipe.

[

Whoa, you’re smoking the Savinelli, he says. I know you are enjoying that Savinelli because I’ve never smoked one of those that didn’t smoke like a dream. La Due leans over the counter and brings up a topic often discussed at Jon’s—Plato’s The Republic. La Due and Armstrong get into a conversation about reason and virtue according to Socrates and Thrasymachus, until La Due overhears something about how Lenny Kravitz is dating Nicole Kidman. La Due exclaims that Lenny Kravitz can’t be classified as a real musician, followed by Armstrong’s explanation of how Lenny Kravitz’s name is just a remake of Jimmy Hendrix’s. And popular music shouldn’t mess with such respectable musicians as Jimmy Hendrix. The conversation moves along to former KKK leader David Duke and the fact that Sofia means wisdom in Greek. Machalek and Bouseman talk about The New Yorker’s decline in quality in recent years. And somehow, La Due and Alanís get back to Frida, and how disappointing it is that Chicago—a movie La Due calls a lighthearted Hollywood musical— won a Golden Globe over such a masterful, respectable film as Frida. buzz

[

At Jon’s, philosophical and literary discussions take place without a need for participation points, and ideas waft through the air like smoke.

LisaMeid

PHOTO | RODERICK GEDEY

BY MATT PAIS | LEAD REVIEWER

The Champaign Downtown Association’s (CDA) mission is to improve the quality of the Downtown area and the experience for the community and its visitors. It supports the unique and diverse character of the Downtown area, including the historic, geographic and economic origin of the city of Champaign. The CDA does all of these things through community outreach, partnership and by encouraging growth in the area through its citizens.

PHOTOS | CHRISTINE LITAS

★★★

Movie News FOX SEARCHLIGHT PICTURES

THE DREAMERS

and Isabelle (Eva Green), a brother and sister with a completely normal relationship. Well, maybe normal in Angelina Jolie’s house. The siblings sleep naked in the same bed and bathe in front of each other, which disturbs Matthew upon moving in with them—but not enough to make him leave. A self-proclaimed pacifist, Matthew is in France to escape being sent to Vietnam, and his residence with Theo and Isabelle, whose parents leave soon after he arrives, secludes all three from the world outside their apartment. As a revolution rages on the streets, they listen to Janis Joplin, argue about movies and spin emotionally detached webs of sexual manipulation. The Dreamers is a confounding, subtle story about interpersonal deception and youthful oblivion. These are characters who, from the moment Matthew sees Isabelle pretending to be chained to the Cinematheque in protest, spend all their time acting: like sexually savvy swingers, like avant-garde, new-wave gurus and like the glamorous movie stars they idolize. The movies are their only connection to the outside world, but when that world closes down the theater, they escape inside themselves and each other rather than joining the revolt. Directed with artistic free-jazz flair and raw objectivity by Bernardo Bertolucci, The Dreamers begs significant comparison to Y Tu Mama Tambien, which also aligns social unrest with sexual awakening as a spiral of hazardous transition. But while Cuaron’s characters take their journey outside among the Mexican youth culture, Bertolucci’s young dreamers turn away from

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GO RENT DEATH TO SMOOCHY ... IT’S A GREAT FLICK | MARCH 18 - 24, 2004

What is the Champaign Downtown Association? The Champaign Downtown Association (CDA) is a membership-based organization made up primarily of Downtown business & property owners, but anyone interested in the future of our Downtown can become a member. People can check our more information at www.downtown champaign.com and by clicking on “Downtown Association.” What is your current position and what do you do? I am the president of CDA and also the president of Lisa Meid + Associates, which is a fairly new public relations/marketing firm located in downtown Champaign. What is a regular day like for you at work? Well, I am a mom to three children and currently in the midst of starting a small public relations firm, Lisa Meid + Associates. I sit on a number of different boards and committees, including the CDA. I could not begin to encapsulate a given day, but I will say that I get to have a lot of fun doing what I do and feel extremely fortunate to be surrounded by the forwardthinking, hardworking people who give their time and heart to Downtown and also to the CDA. What are the recent issues being discussed at the CDA? Downtown is growing so rapidly that the issues are always and constantly evolving. We launched the web site just last week to help to begin to market the Downtown area as a whole. We are doing some visioning work right now, trying to decide what will come next for Downtown. This includes who we want to be and what we want to offer. We all know that the Downtown’s bars and restaurants have seen unprecedented growth, so a major issue is how to now encourage retail, residential and second-story development. Probably most contentious are the various ways that we are looking to fund services for the entire Downtown. We are starting to weigh our options of an SSA, higher membership fees, city funding and also grant funding. How can the community become involved in the CDA? Anyone can drop us an email at info@downtownchampaign.com or call (217) 359-2232. We will be more than happy to put you to work, send you a membership application or just listen to your ideas for how you think we can make our Downtown more user-friendly for everyone. What is your favorite part about living in Champaign-Urbana? The people. I am humbled at least once a week in meeting yet another dynamic artist, band member, businessperson or parent who calls Champaign-Urbana their home. Just when you think you know everyone and have seen all that the community has to offer, another talented person appears who is working to make this community smarter, hipper and more diverse. I love that about this city.

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arts

“WHAT’S WITH YOU TODAY?”“WHAT’S WITH TODAY, TODAY?” | MARCH 18-24, 2004

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Helene Stapinski on her music memoir BY KATIE RICHARDSON | ARTS EDITOR

PHOTO COURTESY OF RANDOM HOUSE

elene Stapinski isn’t just a writer. Though she began writing poems at the age of five and has two books under her belt, that profession hasn’t been the only outlet for her creative energies. Music has also served as one of her passions. As a child, she officially took guitar lessons, but it was the unofficial drum lessons she most enjoyed. She used to creep into her brother’s room and play them when he was away. Upon realizing what she was doing, he took them apart each time he finished practicing on them. Her “sets” continued as soon as she learned to put them back together. In the novel, Baby Plays Around: A Love Affair with Music, her latest release, Stapinski reassembles a lot more than just musical instruments. This memoir details the strains and obstacles that disrupt romantic love and have the potential to wreak havoc on a young relationship. It is also a memoir about the impact music has had on Helene. Helene’s first career was as a journalist. She initially studied journalism at New York University and later received her M.F.A. from Columbia University in 1998. In between, she was a creative columnist for the Jersey Journal and she also began freelancing. This

new outlet allowed her to be able to write about whatever she wanted to, which she enjoyed a great deal. When she was 30, she did an interview with a rocker named Julie, who was also the leader of a band, for a story. The two discussed the band’s need for a drummer, and Helene rekindled her passion. She joined the band, and as a twist on the John LennonYoko Ono paradigm, she asked her husband to come along for the ride and play the bass. He eventually quit the group, and that is when the trouble began. Helene’s contribution to the band increased and, as a result, her relationship with her husband became more distant. In Helene’s own words, the memoir is about “growing up, becoming an adult, and holding on to those last few glimmers of youth.” Inevitably, the implications of married life on a young person’s philosophy and lifestyle play a big role. “This (memoir) takes place in early marriage, in the twilight of marriage,” Stapinski said. “It’s also about being in a band and writing and because I was doing all of them at the same time the three are inextricably linked.” Stapinski is no stranger to transforming her unique and zany personal experiences into witty, and sometimes sad memoirs, e i t h e r .

H e r f i r s t novel, Five Finger Discount, recounts tales of her childhood, but not just any childhood. This was a childhood where petty crime was a constant and the dinner Helene’s mother put on the table (often prime rib, lobster tail and fancy cakes) was usually swiped from the cold storage company where Helene’s father worked. The soap and toothpaste in the bathroom were lifted from the local Colgate factory. The books on the family’s shelves were smuggled out of a book-binding company in Aunt Mary Ann’s oversize girdle (or taken by Grandpa Beansie from the Free Public Library). Uncle Henry did a booming business as the neighborhood bookie, cousins did jail time, and Great-Aunt Katie, who liked to take a shot of whiskey each morning to clear her lungs, was a ward leader in the notorious Jersey City political machine.” Even with this type of heavy material at her fingertips, Stapinski still managed to create a novel that was humorous and available for readers and critics to digest. “Humor makes it bearable. (My whole family) laughs at stuff. It’s the only way to get through things,” said Stapinski. In fact, it was so enjoyable that NBC is currently producing a David E. Kelly-directed TV series based on the tales. Stapinski believes personal stories make for the best writing. H e r writing r e f l e c t s this. “The truer you are the better the writi n g i s , ” s a i d Stapinski. “I think that if there is no pain involved when you write about something, then it probably isn’t very good.” Right before the release of Five Finger Discount, Stapinski’s editor encouraged her to begin writ-

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Debtors Anonymous – Confidential support and helpful tools for dealing with recurring debt and compulsive spending. Baha’i Center. Tuesdays, 7pm. Information: 344-5860 or 239-0363. Healing Energy – This class will demonstrate and explain in detail a modern, scientific, easy to learn approach towards energy healing. Participants will learn how to gain health from a chemical, mental, and physical balance with the art of energy healing. Parkland College, rm L256. April 1, 6-8pm. $13. Inofrmation: 351-2546. Register by Mar 25. Home Garden Planning – Using an aesthetic and practical approach, participants will cover the various aspects of design, planning, planting, and maintaining a home garden. Instructor Kaizad Irani is an instructor of landscape design, construction, and maintenance at Parkland College. Tony Noel Agricultural Technology Center on the west side of Parkland's campus. Mar 27, 9am-12pm. $15. Information: 351-2546. Register by Mar 25. Intermediate Computers – What happens to computer files after they are deleted? This course is for those who want to learn more about how their computer operates. Learn to locate lost files, create address labels, insert clip art, and make columns. Illinois Employment Training Center. April 1-15, Thursdays 1-3pm. $41. Register by Mar 25. Information: 351-2546. Personal Strategies for Navigating Change – Learn personal strategies for navigating change and for dealing effectively with difficult transitions. Take positive action to make change successful, both individually and with others. The BDC, 1315 N. Mattis Ave, C. Mar 25, 8:30am-12:30pm. $99. Information: 351-2235. Real Estate Transactions – This 45-hour class is required by the state of Illinois and prepares individuals for the state real estate exam (must be 21 years old to take the exam). NOTE: Students must attend class no less than 90 percent of the time to receive the state transcript. There are 15 sessions on Mondays and Wednesdays, Mar 22-May 10, 69pm at the BDC, 1315 N. Mattis Ave, C. $285 (textbook included). Information: 351-2235. Career Planning: Preparing for a Job Fair – A free workshop to help job seekers prepare for a job fair. Parkland College, rm C123. April 1, 12pm. Information: 351-2536.

ing a new novel as soon as possible. “She said that my life was going to be pretty hectic once the book was released and that I needed to start on something else before that happened,” Stapinski said. That’s when she began writing Baby Plays Around. The process of writing Baby Plays Around offered some particularly difficult obstacles. Most notably, the personal tale would focus heavily on a very tough period in her marriage. Stapinski worried that the memoir would serve to exploit her husband. Discussion between the two about the subject matter took place over e-mail. They did not talk about it in person. Stapinski says she “rehashed old stuff and learned some new stuff” about her husband’s indiscretions. “It was totally therapeutic, though, and I found out so much stuff while writing this,” Stapinski said. She counts among her literary influences Mary Carr’s The Liars Club, Sylvia Plath and Truman Capote’s In Cold Blood. Her musical influences include the Beatles, Neil Young, and Bob Dylan. “I can remember exactly where I was the first time I heard him,” said Stapinski. And that’s the kind of sentiment that makes for the best writing. buzz

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MARCH 18-24, 2004 | WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com

Fair, Square, and Legal: A Manager's Guide to Safe Hiring, Managing, and Firing Practices – Gain the skills to identify potential employment law violations before they happen, investigate a harassment com-plaint, write safe job advertisements and job descriptions, conduct safe hiring interviews and performance appraisals, determine what constitutes "reasonable accommodation" for an employee with a disability. 1315 N. Mattis Ave., C. Mar 31, 8am-5pm. $195 (book included). Information: 351-2235. Giving and Receiving Constructive Feedback – What is constructive feedback? Learn why everyone in an organization needs to be able to give and receive feedback in a spirit of learning and mutual respect. Key actions and techniques are presented along with ways to use them. 1315 N. Mattis Ave., C. April 1, 8:30am-12:30pm. $99. Information: 351-2235. Free! Home Inspection Information Session – Residents may attend a free session to get information about Parkland's new Home Inspection Certification course. The course covers 10 inspection components including roofing and fireplaces/chimneys. The BDC, 1315 N. Mattis Ave., C. April 3, 10am-12pm. Course tuition discounts will be available. To register, call 351-2235. Healing the Customer Relationship – Identify what sets customers off and discuss the positive potential in negative customer experiences. Learn guidelines for restoring trust and confidence in customers who are angry or frustrated. See how to manage your own reactions in difficult situations. 1315 N. Mattis Ave., C. Mar 31, 8:30am-12:30pm. $99. Information: 351-2235.

Home Buyer's Seminar – Learn about budgeting, pre-qualification, inspection, closing, and other important steps in the home buying process. Offered each month all year. April 1 & 8, 7-9:30pm. 1315 N. Mattis Ave., C. $20 per individual or same household couple; includes workbook. Information: 351-2235. Residential/Single Family Appraisal Procedures – Procedures and methods of appraising residential properties and estimating real estate value will be covered during this 30-hour course. 1315 N. Mattis Ave., C. Mar 30-April 29. Tuesdays & Thursdays, 69pm. $380 (textbooks additional). Information: 351-2235. Champaign County Audubon Society monthly meeting – Arlo Raim of the Medical Entomology Laboratory of the Illinois Natural History Survey will present a program on West Nile Virus, Crows and Other Susceptible Birds. Bevier Hall, corner of Goodwin and Gregory, Urbana, rm 242. April 1, 7:30pm. For more information: Further information, contact Arlo at 443-2499.

MIND BODY SPIRIT Sunday Zen Meditation Meeting - Introduction to Zen Sitting, 10am. Full Schedule: service at 9am followed by sitting, Dharma Talk at 11am followed be tea until 12pm. Can arrive at any of above times, open to all, no experience needed, no cost. Prairie Zen Center. For information, call 355-8835 or go to www.prairiezen.org.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES School Tutor or Classroom Aid – Join hundreds of other bright and enthusiastic students who are involved in this award winning student-run program. What you choose to do with 2hrs/wk of your time will make a huge difference – not only in the life of a child but also in your own life. Choose to tutor one-on-one or be a classroom aid in local schools. For more information, stop by the Vis-AVis program office at the University YMCA or call 239-3614 ext 29. Volunteer Cook – Share your love of cooking and prepare a meal for a Healthy Young Families support group. Volunteers prepare a meal in their home, and drop it off at the group meeting site. A wonderful opportunity for a large group who would like to volunteer together. For more information, call Anna Langford at 398-8080.

Action Center Coordinator – The Illinois Student Environmental Network is looking for a Legislative Coordinator to replace outdated materials with current materials. For more information, contact Angela at 384-0830 or angela@isenonline.org. Fund-raising Assistant – The INDEX Illinois Student Environmental Network is looking for someone to research grant-mak- Employment ing foundations and helping with other things such as writing thank-you notes. For Services more information, contact Angela at 384Merchandise 0830 or angela@isenonline.org.

000 100 200 Transportation 300 400 Publications Assistant – The Illinois Student Apartments Environmental Network is looking for some- Other Housing/Rent 500 one to contribute articles to the ISEN Real Estate for Sale 600 newsletter and/or to Currents, the Energy Efficiency Program newsletter. For more Things To Do 700 information, contact Angela at 384-0830 or Announcements 800 angela@isenonline.org. Personals 900 Media Coordinator – The Illinois Student Environmental Network is looking for volunteers who will work as public relation people with the media. Information: Angela at 384-0830 or angela@isenonline.org. Miscellaneous office projects – The Illinois Student Environmental Network is looking for volunteers to help with labeling and mailings and various other projects. Walk-ins are welcome. For more information, contact Angela at 384-0830 or angela@isenonline.org.

PUBLIC MEETINGS Plan Commission Meeting – Discussion of Agenda Items, Urbana City Council Chambers, Thur, 7:30pm. Cunninghan Township Budget Committee – Discussion on Agenda Items, Urbana City Council Chambers, Mon, 7pm. Committee of the Whole Meeting – Discussion of Agenda Items, Urbana City Council Chambers, Mon, 7:30pm. Community Development Commission – Regular monthly meeting of Community Development Commission, Urbana City Council Chambers, Tue, 7pm.

Relabeling and Recovering Book – Improve the appearance of the Champaign Library collections by relabeling and recovering books. Evaluate the condition of books in a specified collection to determine whether relabeling or recovering are needed. Apply labels and label protectors to books. Apply mylar dust jackets to books. For more information, call Judie Christensen at 403-2076.

Champaign Liquor Advisory Commission Meeting – Regular Monthly Meeting, Champaign Council Chambers, Thur, 8:3010am.

Special Olympics Aquatics Competition – Help Special Olympians during an aquatic competition being held Mar 27 at the Urbana Indoor Aquatics Center. Twenty-five volunteers are needed for the event and duties will include escorting athletes to the staging area, helping to keep time, passing out lunches, and presenting awards. For more information, call Marie Reitmeier at 694-4572.

Champaign City Council Regular Study Session Meeting – Regular Study Session, Champaign Council Chambers, Tue, 7-10pm.

Arthritis Seminar – Help the Arthritis Foundation serve its clients by volunteering to assist with an Arthritis Seminar being held Tue during the day at Lincoln Square. Volunteer duties include assisting with set-up, check-in and registration, running errands during the event and clean up at the end. If interested, contact Mary Dennis at 398-7815. Student Database Volunteer – This Illinois Student Environmental Network volunteer will update the contact information that is in the student database by visiting the Web sites of student groups and updating the computer file. For more information, contact Angela at 384-0830 or angela@isenonline.org.

Champaign Zoning Board of Appeals Meeting – Regular Monthly Meeting, Champaign Council Chambers, Thur, 4-6pm.

Champaign Code Enforcement Board of Appeals Meeting – Regular Monthly Meeting, Champaign Council Chambers, Mar 25, 3-5pm.

CROSSWORD ANSWERS P 23 C H A M P S

H O T T I E

I M A G E R

F A T A L I S T

I C E S O V E R

S H E S G O N E

P P E D E A L O N Y C O S H R T E S E N A R A P I S I O N E S A S H I R T C R C H E R Y A D S R A T S

I N S I P I D

N E T L O S S E S S T E P E R L A I D E A

G A L O P A L I B I P A B S T L S R E S O W E S T T H A T S O O N T O P D I T O R S E S S S T I R P S T N O R T I O O F A N A R K I N E S H E R D S T O R M S

• 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

Services

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BUSINESS SERVICES AAA Mowing and Lawn Care FAIR prices. Call 24 hours. 866-213-0989.

Stan’s Lawn Care Spring clean up 841-1218

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

LAWN CARE FREE ESTIMATES: Tree trimming, Topping, Removal, Stump Grinding. 384-5010.

Apartments

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CAMPUS APARTMENTS Furnished | Unfurnished

Courtyard Apartments 713 S. Randolph, Champaign Renting for Fall/2 & 3 Bedrooms. Furnished & Unfurnished From $608/mo. Includes cable, parking, water. Has laundry facility and seasonal pool. Near campus and downtown Champaign. 352-8540, 355-4608 pm. www.faronproperties.com CAMPUS APARTMENTS Furnished JOHN SMITH PROPERTY MANAGEMENT www.johnsmithproperties.com (217)384-6930 “believe the hype”

CAMPUS APARTMENTS Unurnished 309 W. Springfield, C. Spacious 2 BR townhouse now available. $550/mo. Flexible lease. 352-8540. PM 355-4608. www.faronproperties.com

RATES: 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

800 W. Church, C. Now avail. Economical 2 BR. $450/mo. 352-8540, 355-4608 pm. www.faronproperties.com

OFF-CAMPUS APARTMENTS Unfurnished Brand new luxury 1, 2, 3, bedroom apartments available in Champaign. Call Manchester Property Management at 359-0248 for an appointment.

SUBLETS Live Downtown This Summer! Student housing in Downtown Champaign. Great summer rates! Utilities included. Call 398-4255 or check out www.robesonhall.com.

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WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com | MARCH 18-24, 2004

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Champaign County Audubon Society early morning bird walks – Busey Woods every Sunday morning at 7:30am. Meet at Anita Purves Nature Center parking lot. 344-6803. Students for Environmental Concerns' Earth Day Benefit Festival – Three local bands playing there: Green Mountain Grass, Apollo Project and Nadafinga, will perform in honor of the 34th celebration of Earth Day. Illini Union's Courtyard Cafe. April 15, 6pm. Singles Celebrating Life dance – Urbana Civic Center. Second Saturday of each month. 8pm12am. $7 at the door. Champaign County Audubon Society Woodcock Walk – With luck and adequate light, the group may see a few of the male woodcocks perform their remarkable courtship flight. Meet at the Race Street parking lot of Meadowbrook Park, U. Fri, 5:45pm. Rain date: Mar 26. “Share a Meal with Community Shares” – This fundraiser helps local non-profits. Thirty percent of your meal at Silvercreek restaurant goes to one of these charities. For information, call 328-3402. “Patronage of Art and Culture by Muslim Queens and Concubines” – a talk by Dede Ruggles, Department of Architecture. Presented by The Feminist Scholarship Series. Gender & Women’s Studies Program, 911 S 6th St. Mar 31, 12pm. Panel Discussion: The Anniversary of the Iraq War – The following panelists will speak at the discussion: Cliff Singer (ACDIS), John Lynn (History), Stephen Hartnett (Speech Comm.), Assata Zerai (Afro-American Studies/Soc). Susan Davis (Institute of Comm. Research) will moderate the event, which is free and open to the public. Humanities Lecture Hall, IPRH, 805 W Penn Ave, U. Thur, 4pm. For more information, call 244-3344 or visit www.iprh.uiuc.edu. Preview of the Roger Ebert Film Fest – Nancy Casey, assoc. dean for dev., College of Communications and producer of the fest will speak. The overlooked film festival was designed by Ebert to showcase films that have not reached as wide an audience as they deserve. Learn about this year’s line-up from the producer. Part of the Know Your University Lecture Series. Latzer Hall, University YMCA. Mar 30, 12pm. “European Union: International Organization or Emerging State?” – Bob Pahre, University political science professor, will speak. The European Union is a novel political entity, neither a traditional international organization nor yet a conventional state. Pahre will present an overview of this new political system. Part of the Friday Forum Series. Latzer Hall, University YMCA. April 2, 12pm. Geography Trilogy, Part 3: House, A Work in Progress – Ralph Lemon and his company spend six weeks at Krannert Center working on the final development of Lemon’s Geography Trilogy, Part 3 – House, an exploration of critical events in American racial history and the rich folk culture of the southern United States. Mar 15-April 25. Colwell Playhouse. “Live! @ Your Library” feat. Colonel William Thompson – Hear a first-hand account of what it was this African American veteran who was there. Thompson is one of the original Tuskegee Airmen. He has recently written a memoir about his wartime experiences. Champaign Public Library. April 6, 7pm. Registration not required. For more information, call 403-2070. International Dinner – The University YMCA, Office of International Student Affairs and the Cosmopolitan Club will host its 21st annual International Dinner, which will have a large food buffet with food from more than 30 countries and international performers. University YMCA Latzer Hall. April 4, 6-8pm. Tickets on sale now, $10. For more information, call Becca Nieto at 337-1514. Staerkel Planetarium Monthly Science Presentation – On the first Friday of each month that classes are in session, the planetarium will host a noted scientist from the community for a presentation on his or her expertise. Talks begin at 7pm and tickets are $1 at the door. No reservations necessary. Questions: 351-2446.

Job Fair 2004 at Parkland – More than 100 employers and hiring representatives will be on hand to answer questions and talk about job opportunities. Those seeking employment are encouraged to bring resumes, fill out job applications and be prepared for on-the-spot interviews. There will be representation from a variety of career fields including business, technology, communications, healthcare, crinminal justice, manufacturing, hospitality, and human services. April 8, 2-6pm in the Parkland Gymnasium. Free and open to the public. Information: 351-2536. "World of Science"- Forensic Science: From Fingerprinting to DNA – The Staerkel Planetarium is pleased to host Paul Sarantakos and Tod Treat as they take their audience under the microscope of forensic science. April 2, 7pm. $1. No reservations. Information: 351-2568. “Letters from Heaven: Bolsheviks Against ‘Superstition’ and ‘Superstition Against Bolsheviks’” – a lecture by Steve Smith, history, University of Essex, England. Part of the Russian, East European and Eurasian Center’s Distinguished Lecturers Colloqium Series. 101 International Studies Building. April 19, 4-5:30pm. International Justice Issues – Joan Campbell, director, Department of Religion, Chautauqua Institution, will speak. The talk will focus on Dr. Campbell’s recent work with the Global Peace Initiative of Women Religious and Spiritual Leaders and her recent experiences in Tel Aviv. Part of the Friday Forum. Latzer Hall, University YMCA. April 9. Fri, 12pm. Internationalizing Higher Education – Earl Kellog, assoc. provost for International Affairs at the University, will speak. The talk will address the contemporary rationale for the strong emphasis on expanding and enriching the international dimension in an excellent university. Part of the Friday Forum. Latzer Hall, University YMCA. April 16. Fri, 12pm. Alcohol Myth and Reality – Bill Riley, assoc. vice chancellor and dean of students at the University, will speak. Data on college student drinking and alcohol abuse will be presented and discussed along with its relationship to policies and practices. Part of the Know Your University lecture series. Latzer Hall, University YMCA. April 6, Tue, 12pm. Anniversary Commemoration of Iraq War – The Anti-War Anti-Racism Effort (AWARE) will remember the US invasion of Iraq at this event. Music, Poetry, and featured speaker, Dr. Mohammad AlHeeti who has just returned from a visit to Iraq. Followed by a Peace Walk from the Urbana Middle School to the Champaign County Courthouse, where there will be an Anti-War Rally. Urbana Middle School. Sat, 3pm. Information: 344-9155.

ANNOUNCEMENTS Free Poetry Contest Open to Champaign residents – The International LIbrary of Poetry has announced that over 250 prizes and $58 thousand will be awarded in this year’s International Open Poetry Contest. To enter, send one original poem, any subject and any style to: The International LIbrary of Poetry, Suite 19919, 1 Poetry Plaza, Owings Mills, MD 21117. The poem should be 20 lines or less, and the poet’s name and address should appear on the top of the page. Entries must be sent by May 31. For more information, go to www.poetry.com.

WORKSHOPS & MEETINGS Bead Work & Jewelry Making class – Design and create your own prom or wedding jewelry. Michael's Arts & Crafts, C. Mar 16, 23, & 30. 6-8pm. Fee: $33 (series of three classes). To Register, contact Michael's at 378-8716 or go to the Champaign store. Beginners are welcome. For more information, contact instructor Tammy Soper at 832-2434 or tammy13@egix.net.

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Loose Womyn Discussion Group – The group will be discussing the fiction book Love Medicine by Louise Erdrich (discounted 20% during the month of March). This reissue of the first book in Louise Erdrich's Native American series includes five new sections that color and complement the original multigenerational saga of two extended families-the Kashpaws and the Lamartines--who live on and around a Chippewa reservation in North Dakota. A magical novel. Borders Bookstore. Thur, 7pm. How to Get Hired – Learn how to find a job, prepare for an interview, negotiate contracts, and convey the kind of professionalism that will help you take that first step on the career ladder. You’ll get tips from peopl who do the hiring. Illini Union, rm 407. April 7, 4-5pm. UI Ice Arena Open Skate Sessions – Sessions will be held through Mar 18. M-F 11:20am-12:40pm, Sat & Sun 1:30-4pm. Open Skate sessions will resume Mar 29 and will be offered M-F 11:20am12:40pm thru May 5. No Sat Open Skates will be offered after Mar 13. Open Skates are free to UI students, Campus Rec members, and children (5 years and younger), $5 for adult nonmembers/general public, and $4 for youth (613 years) nonmembers/general public. Skate rental is $1 for UI students/Campus Rec members and $2 for nonmembers/general public. UI Ice Arena, 406 E Armory Dr, C. Questions: 333-2081. Learn-to-Skate Spring Session II – Registration for Campus Recreation’s Learn-To-Skate Spring Session II is still available. The Learn-To-Skate program follows the guidelines of the Ice Skating Institute (ISI) for recreational skaters. Skaters enrolled in Learn-To-Skate group lessons will have five 45-minutes lessons from a qualified figure skating instructor followed by 15-minute open practice sessions. Classes are available for all ages and levels of skaters. Prices vary depending on the class. Spring Session II classes Mar 6-April 17. Learn-To-Skate is open to UI students, Campus Rec members, nonmembers, and the general public. To register, pick up an application at the UI Ice Arena, 406 E. Armory, Champaign, or download an application at www.campusrec.uiuc.edu. Information: 333-2212, visit www.campusrec.uiuc.edu, or email: uofi_icearena@yahoo.com. Campus Recreation Learn-to-Skate Spring Session II – Registration for the session is still available. Skaters enrolled will have five 45-minutes lessons from a qualified figure skating instructor followed by 15-minute open practice sessions. Classes are available for all ages and levels of skaters. Classes begin Mar 6 and go thru April 17. To register, go to UI Ice Arena or www.campusrec.uiuc.edu. EMS Response 2004 – Presented by Edward M. Racht, M.D., this annual continuing education opportunity for EMT's will include areas of resuscitation, ethics, and domestic preparedness. Class held April 3, 8am-5pm in Parkland College Theatre. $50. Register by this Monday. Questions: 351-2224. Resume Writing – Participants will learn how to create a resume to find employment. Parkland College, rm C123. Thur, 12pm. Free. Questions: 3512536. Home Buyer's Seminar – Learn about budgeting, pre-qualification, inspection, closing, and other important steps in the home buying process. Parkland Business Development Center. Sat, 9am2pm. $20 per individual or same household couple; includes workbook. Questions: 351-2235. Celts and Romans, Castles and Cathedrals: The Palatinate in History, Part I – Germany's scenic Palatinate province is a land of castles and vineyards, with close ties to America-as the home of the Pennsylvania Dutch and today's location of the largest U.S. military community in Europe. Using instructor-made videos, this class will trace the area's history, from the age of prehistoric stone monuments through Roman palaces and villas to medieval castles and cathedrals. Parkland College Bauman Center. Mar 30-April 27. Tuesdays, 6:308:30pm. $29. Information: 403-1429. Register by Mar 23.

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arts

MARCH 18-24, 2004 | AH! I WAS VOTED MOST LIKELY TO BE A MENTAL PATIENT OR A HILLBILLY OR A CHIMPANZEE.

ARTIST’S CORNER BY KATIE RICHARDSON | ARTS EDITOR

ebecca Plummer Rohloff is a doctoral student in art education and a local painter. She earned her B.A in studio arts and art education from SIU-Carbondale. Upon graduation, she taught in Japan, returning to the area three years later to complete her Master’s degree. For the past four years, she has taught art at Unity High School in Tolono. Presently, she is involved in researching how culture and identity via media and imagery is produced within a consumer society. Her work consists of mixed media acrylic canvases. She is looking for an exhibition space for the fall. She can be contacted at rrohloff@uiuc.edu. What role do you think art plays in society? The word ‘art’ is quite problematic. As a result of the project of Modernity, creativity, imagination and expression have been appropriated by the institutions of class, status and power. Art became reduced to a commodity. Throughout history, artists of all kinds have acted as mediators between us and the “Gods,” as sages and voices of wisdom. In many traditional societies, the arts were, and still are, embodied in communal ritual and reverence for the sacred through artifact and the expressive act. It seems that our secular and consumer society in a postmodern world has suffocated this similar transformative power of art. In a technoglobalized world, to the world, where the visual landscape is dominated by scripts that seem to fragment and often dehumanize, I feel artists hold an enormous responsibility to speak on behalf of the asymmetrical balances of power. What role did your research in critical

culture studies play in the development of your artistic voice? My worldview is totally different than the work of bringing social justice and healing was three years ago. The process of learning about how embedded power structures really are in the media, schools and the government can be really despairing. Often, artists take this as subject matter and get lost in the process themselves. For some reason, I have always had a deep desire to connect with a spiritual center that draws me back to a sense of hope and centeredness when life looks ugly. So in this perspective, working on behalf of peace and justice has to be more than political action. Recognizing art to be a tool for transforming the very consciousness of society has refocused both my artistic and academic purposes. Where does your art presently resonate from? I am very open to deepening my awareness of wisdom. The voices from sacred traditions around the world as well as embracing a deeper understanding of the role of Christ, forgiveness and wholeness have sobered my art and have grounded me in a space where there’s strength to daily and consciously respond with compassion to the chaos of life. Training in transformative nonviolence has helped to provide me answers in how to practically live this out. But it is the people who have embodied these principles throughout history that give me courage. Would you explain this philosophy of ‘transformative nonviolence’? Violence is anything that dehumanizes, diminishes or destroys the sanctity of life. We often normalize its presence when it comes to issues of gender or the ecosytem.

PHOTOS | RODERICK GEDEY

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Transformative nonviolence works to restore the balance by speaking to these issues through nonviolent responses of resistance.

These may include volunteer simplicity, changing the language you use or engaging in acts of civil disobedience.

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“I WAS SO POOR GROWING UP, IF I WASN’T A BOY, I’D HAVE NOTHING TO PLAY WITH.” | MARCH 18-24, 2004

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Last chance to see ‘Beyond East and West’

PHOTO | ARTURO GONZÁLEZ DE ALBA

Drop us a line. buzz@readbuzz.com

“Distant Voices Nearer: A Celebration of American Indian Art” – Featuring paintings by DeHaven Solimon Chaffins, jewelry by Ben Yellowhorse, ceramic sculptures by Lynn Hone, ceramics by Laguna Potter and Michael Kanteena, pottery from Acoma and Mata Ortiz. On display at Verde Gallery through Mar 20. Opening reception for Chaffins and Yellowhouse Thur at 7pm. 17 E Taylor St in Champaign. Cafe: Mon-Sat 7am-10 pm. Gallery: Tue-Sat 10am-10pm. 366-3204. “Transitions” – Work from Nicole Cisne on display at Aroma Café ends Sunday. 118 N Neil in Champaign. Open 7 days a week, 7am-Midnight. For more information, contact Amanda Bickle at 356-3200 or art4aroma@yahoo.com.

PHOTO | BILL ORCUTT

“Picturing Performance: Japanese Theater Prints of the Utagawa School, 1790–1868” – The focus of artistic production in 18th and 19th century Japan (Edo period) was the world of entertainment. This exhibit captures a views of this world of illusion and fantasy (Ukiyo) through richly-colored and compositionally provocative woodblock prints know as Ukiyo-e. The exhibition is on view through Mar 21. 500 E Peabody in Urbana. Tue, Thu-Sat 9am-5pm, Wed 9am-8pm, Sun 2-5pm. Suggested donation $3. 333-1860. “Bon Coiffure: Hair Signs from West Africa” – This exhibition deals with the art of African hair styling, hair sign painting and hairstyles in traditional masks and sculpture. Hairdressers also hire artists to hand paint signs to advertise their skills and represent their repertoire of coiffures. Bon Coiffure is on view through Mar 21. 500 E Peabody in Urbana. Tue, Thu-Sat 9am-5pm, Wed 9am-8pm, Sun 2-5pm. Suggested donation $3. 333-1860. “Beyond East and West: Seven Transnational Artists” – The Krannert Museum has put together a traveling exhibition bringing together the work of seven major contemporary artists who share a connection to both worlds. 500 E Peabody in Urbana. Tue, Thu-Sat 9am-5pm, Wed 9am-8pm, Sun 2-5pm. Suggested donation $3. 333-1860. “Whistler and Japonisme: Selections from the Permanent Collection” – James McNeill Whistler’s works are highlighted on paper and examines the influence that Japanese woodcuts had on his artistic technique. On display at Krannert Art Museum through Mar 28. 500 E Peabody in Urbana. Tue, Thu-Sat 9am-5pm, Wed 9am-8pm, Sun 2-5pm. Suggested donation $3. 333-1860. “Water and Wood” – Featuring the watercolors of Beverly Sanderson and the wood carvings of the Illini Carvers. On display at the Hays Center through Mar 26. 1211 W. Church, Champaign. MonFri 8am-4pm. 398-2376.

was voted Best Performance of the night.

ON STAGE 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. Fridays,“Vampire: The Masquerade.” For more information, visit www2.uiuc.edu/ro/elysium/intro.html. Check site for location, 7pm. The Chamber Theatre Production of Encore! – Virginia Theatre. Fri, 10am. Questions: 800-2257988.

Check out a clip of Piston Hurricane at www.readbuzz.com Sponsored by

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MARCH 18-24, 2004 | WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com

Creation Art Studios – Artwork by instructors Jeannine Bestoso, Amy Richardson, and Shoshanna Bauer, and the studio’s friends and family. 1102 E Washington St in Urbana. Hours: Mon-Fri 35:30pm, Sat 1-4pm and other scheduled studio times. For more information, call Jeannine Bestoso at 344-6955.

BY TERESA A. SEWELL | STAFF WRITER

All the artists come from the region of Egypt to Pakistan but or the last two months, Beyond East and have spent much of their lives in West: Seven Transnational Artists has fea- Europe or the United States. The tured seven talented artists who open up new seven artists featured here add ways of understanding cross-cultural experi- distinct and original art forms ence. Having much to express to the world that will surely elicit different today, the exhibit has steadily gained pro- interpretations from individual found intrigue, appreciation and popularity onlookers. In Traffic, by artist Mona among the public. David O’Brien, associate professor of art Hatoum, two old suitcases placed history, David Prochaska, associate professor parallel to each other are connectof history, and Roxanne Stanulis, curator at ed by a long grade of fine and Krannert Art Museum, have worked on the curly human hair. This piece exhibit for three years and are definitely alludes to her experience of disproud to see it finally come together for the placement, but might also refer to public to view. “It’s a great exhibition with the Holocaust. Y.Z. Kami’s strong artists and strong artwork,” said Untitled displays the faces of ordiStanulis. “I’m really pleased that it’s here for nary people. Hatoum comments such a long time and to have had the chance in the caption of his portraits, to work as the facilitator among the profes- “People’s humanity is in their face, in their eyes and in their sors and contemporary artists.” Describing the work that went into prepar- skin. These portraits are not about ing the exhibition, O’Brien said, “First, we famous people or beautiful peohad to formulate the idea and get the support ple—although I think everyone Y.Z. Kami, Untitled, 2003 Oil on linen, 23 x 15". of the museum. Then we had to find funding. without exception has a beautiful Courtesy of the artist These types of exhibitions cost a great deal of face.” The true purpose of these art money. (We also) had to convince the artists, who are extremely well-known, to trust us to forms is to make the viewer see the joys and works and include other artists in the show, difficulties of a transitional cultural experience the space was limited and they decided that display their work at our museum.” Obviously, that trust was won and the today. Crossing cultures, alienation and war seven artists would be the appropriate numexhibit has kept growing since, reaching new- are all aspects of life that we, as human beings, ber. The decision-making process was diffifound respect unintentionally in the process. cannot ignore in our increasingly interconnect- cult and many discussions went into the final “We began six months before 9/11, but 9/11 ed, transnational world. These artists were choices, favoring the artworks whose ideas and especially the fear-mongering that has chosen because they all share these emotions appeared the most significant and convincoccurred since—epitomized in the phrase of displacement and experiences of adapting ing. “The most important piece for me is the one that in the end we couldn’t include: “war on terrorism”—has made it even more to new cultures, while trying to keep a hold of their own. “These artists have Jananne Al-Ani’s A Loving Man (1996-99), in pertinent and important,” Prochaska added. crossed or collapsed political, cul- which five women of the Al-Ani family evoke tural and religious borders and personal and family memories (to) Iraq and disrupted conventional and the Middle East—from their current location stereotypical representations of in London,” Prochaska added. Nonetheless, the show has presented taltime and place, of history and geography,” O’Brien said. “Their ented artists who define the genuine meaning art offers new kinds of intercultur- of transnational artists and have seen much success at Krannert. al understanding.” “I’m very happy that the exhibit has been The title of the exhibition, prominently posted at its en- received so positively,” O’Brien said. “Most trance, says a great deal about its people seem to have found the art very movcontent. “Beyond East and West ing, and many people share the kinds of crossis not altogether a happy title, (but cultural experiences addressed in the show.” The seven artists portrayed in this exhibit it) nonetheless states explicitly our intention to move beyond the include Ghada Amer, Walid Raad, Michal stereotypes and realities of ‘East’ Rovner, Shahzia Sikander, Al-Ani, Hatoum and ‘West’ that divide us,” and Kami. The show is part of a conference Prochaska said. “The show is all that will travel to the Hood Museum of Art at about trafficking between and Dartmouth College and Williams College across borders, about crossing Museum of Art. To gain insight on the interpolitical borders and transgress- cultural experiences of the seven artists, see the exhibit at Krannert Art Museum, 500 E. ing artistic borders.” The creators of the show hope Peabody Drive. buzz that thereafter the observer will at least attempt to understand the tensions and cultural differences that are present in each piece. Mona Hatoum, Traffic, 2002 Even though the creators wanted The exhibition will be shown until April 4, Suitcases, plastic, metal, and human hair, 19 x 25 x 26 ". Courtesy of the artist and Alexander and Bonin, New York to display more of the artists’ 2004, free to the public.

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“Weird” Al Yankovic – Virginia Theatre. Mar 25, 7:30pm. $38.50. Questions: 356-9063. The Fairy Queen – Henry Purcell’s semi-opera will be under the direction of Charlotte Mattax and performed by U of I opera singers, dancers, the Concert Choir, and Concerto Urbana. Sung in English. Tryon Festival Theatre. April 23, 24 at 7:30pm.

FILM The Dreamers – Rated NC17, Fresh from N.Y. and LA where it is the highest grossing Independent film. Left alone in Paris whilst their parents are on holiday, Isabelle and her brother Theo invite Matthew, a young American student, to stay at their apartment. Here they make their own rules as they experiment with their emotions and sexuality while playing a series of increasingly demanding mind games. Set against the turbulent political backdrop of France in the spring of 1968 when the voice of youth was reverberating around Europe, it is a story of self-discovery as the three students test each other to see just how far they will go. Last day is this Thursday. For showtimes, go to www.boardmansarttheatre.com. The Passion of the Christ – Rated R, showing at Boardman’s Lorraine Theatre in Hoopeston. For showtimes, go to www.boardmansarttheatre.com. Jurassic Park – Rated PG-13. Presented as part of The News-Gazette Classic Film Festival, this film is about a billionaire who invites paleontologists to inspect his island amusement park populated with living dinosaurs. Stars Sam Neil, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum. Virginia Theatre. Fri, 7pm. Sat, 2:30pm, 7pm. $5. Questions: 356-9063.

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.

Teen Advisory Board – Swap views on movies, music, and books, do volunteer projects and snack. No registration. Champaign Public Library. Tue, 67pm. Information: 403-2070.

Babies’ Lap Time – Babies are invited to Phillips Recreation Center for Babies' Lap Time Tue from 10-10:30am, presented by The Urbana Free Library Children’s Department. This program is for our youngest patrons, ages 6-24 months with an adult. No registration. For more info, call 367-4069.

Talkin’ About Careers – Students in middle school and up and their parents can hear local professionals discuss career choices. No registration. Douglass Branch Library. Mar 25, 6:30-7:45pm. Questions: 403-2090.

UPCOMING EVENTS

O Baby! – Lap-bouncing, nursery rhymes and music activities for infants with a caregiver. Champaign Public Library, main library. Mon 9:30-9:50am or 10:30-10:50am. No registration required. For more information, call 403-2030.

“Magic Tree House” party – school-aged fans of the “Magic Tree House” book series are invited to blast back into the past at this free party. Play Magic Tree House Bingo and win prizes. Champaign Public Library. April 3, 2-3pm. No registration required. Information: 403-2030.

Storyshop – Stories, songs and rhymes for preschoolers through third-graders, 9:30-10am or 10:30-11am at Champaign Public Library, and 10:30-11am at Douglass Branch Library, both in Champaign, Mar 3. No registration.

Science Saturdays – Phillips Recreation Center. Sat, 10-11:30am. Registration required. Information: 367-1544.

Founded after the 1991 Gulf War, this festival celebrates the power of music to promote peace and understanding. On its first American

Love and Basketball – Two up-and-coming athletes, one male and one female, are forced to choose between their sport and each other in this romance. Krannert Art Museum, rm 62. Thur, 5:30pm.

tour, the "Spirit of Fès" presents an array of revered artists from around the globe reflecting

But I’m a Cheerleader – When a 17-year-old Megan (Natasha Lyonne), a sweet-natured cheerleader, claims she is a vegetarian and puts a Melissa Etheridge poster on her wall, her parents arrive at the obvious conclusion: their daughter is a lesbian. They promptly send Megan to a homosexual deprogramming camp where Megan meets charismatic camper and fellow suspected lesbian Graham (Clea DuVall) and starts to wonder if she really does prefer the fairer sex. Krannert Art Museum, rm 62. April 8, 5:30pm.

Sephardic Jewish, Moroccan, Sufi, and Gospel musical traditions.

KIDS & FAMILY Club Fred: Character Count – Presenters from University of Illinois Extension discuss the six pillars of good character. No registration. Douglass Branch Library. Sunday, 4-5pm. Information: 4032090. Family Fun Day Sunday in the Square – Enjoy interactive rides this Sunday. There will also be food, shopping, games, miniature golf and more. Lincoln Square Mall. Sun, 1-5pm. For more info, call the Urbana Business Association at 344-3872. Funfare – Come to The Phillips Recreation Center Thursday, April 1, presented by The Urbana Free Library Children’s Department. Preschool groups are invited to come from 9:45-10:15am (Groups please register with the Children’s Department in advance at 367-4069). Families are invited to come from 10:30-11am. Both programs will feature stories, songs, puppets, and films for children their parent(s)or caregiver(s). No registration required. Information: 367-4069. My Preschool Genius – A book-centered program focusing on language. Preschoolers can listen to dynamic picture book presentations and explore the art of picture book illustration. Champaign Public Library. Tue, 9:30-10am. Registration required. Call 403-2030. Girls, Girls, Girls! – Games, crafts, and reading time for girls in grades 1-4. Douglass Branch Library. Fri, 4-5pm. No registration. KnowZone – Homework help for school-aged children. Tue 4-5pm. Douglass Branch Library. No registration required.

Mar 30-31

FÈS FESTIVAL

Françoise Atlan and Jamey Haddad Hadra des Femmes de Taroudant

of World Sacred Music

The Anointed Jackson Sisters Gabriel Meyer and Yacoub Hussein

Corporate Silver Sponsor:

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.

being matters.

333-6280 KrannertCenter.com

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4/24 Pat McGee Band @ House of Blues, 18+ 4/24 Of Montreal @ Subterranean 4/25 Janis Ian @ Old Town School of Folk Music 4/27 LCD Soundsystem @ Empty Bottle 4/27 Damien Rice @ Riviera, all-ages 4/28 Deerhoof @ Empty Bottle 4/28 James Murphy @ Smart Bar 4/30 Einsturzende Neubauten @ Metro, 18+ 4/30 Graham Parker @ Martyrs'

CHICAGOVENUES Abbey Pub 3420 W Grace, Chicago, (773) 478-4408 Allstate Arena 6920 N Mannheim Rd, Rosemont, (847) 635-6601 Aragon 1106 W Lawrence, Chicago, (773) 561-9500 Arie Crown Theater 2301 S Lake Shore Dr, Chicago, (312) 791-6190 Bottom Lounge 3206 N Wilton, Chicago, (773) 975-0505 Chicago Theatre 175 N State St, Chicago, (312) 443-1130 Congress Theatre 2135 N Milwaukee, Chicago, (312) 923-2000 Double Door 1572 N Milwaukee Ave, Chicago, (773) 489-3160 Elbo Room 2871 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, (773) 549-5549 Empty Bottle 1035 N Western Ave, Chicago, (773) 276-3600 Fireside Bowl 2648 W Fullerton Ave, Chicago, (773) 486-2700 House of Blues 329 N Dearborn, Chicago, (312) 923-2000 Martyrs' 3855 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, (773) 404-9494 Metro/Smart Bar 3730 N Clark St, Chicago, (773) 549-0203 Old Town School of Folk Music 4544 N Lincoln Ave, Chicago, (773) 728-6000 Park West 322 W Armitage, Chicago, (773) 929-5959 Riviera Theatre 4746 N Racine, Chicago, (773) 275-6800 Rosemont Theatre 5400 N River Rd, Rosemont, (847) 671-5100 Schubas 3159 N Southport, Chicago, (773) 525-2508 UIC Pavilion 525 S Racine, Chicago, (312) 413-5700 Vic Theatre 3145 N Sheffield, Chicago, (773) 472-0449

ART NOTICES Call For Artists: 2004 Art Exhibition Series Call for Artists – The Champaign Park District is seeking local visual artists to apply for this new venue at the Springer Cultural Center. Exhibits strive to present artistic and ethnic diversity of ChampaignUrbana and surrounding area artists. The call will continue through Mar 31. Call for more information. 398-2376.

WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com | MARCH 18-24, 2004

Creation Art Studios: Art Classes for Children and Adults – All classes use the spontaneous art process to demonstrate technical instruction and the exploration of materials. CPDU's offered. Creation Art Studios, 1102 E Washington in Urbana. Call Jeannine Bestoso at 344-6955 or go to www.creationartstudios.com for information. Art Retreats – First Sundays Art of Creation, Passion, and Restoration Retreats at Creation Art Studios with independent artist Jeannine Bestoso. Recreate your original self, ignite your passions, and resurrect buried or lost visions through guided art activities, journal writing, reflection, and quiet group involvement. A transformative experience of personal expansion and clarity that can lead you onto a path of new directions and creative living. April 4, 9am-3pm. Pre-registration required. Lunch provided. For more information and to register, contact Jeannine Bestoso at 3446955.

ART GALLERIES

Country in the City – Antiques, Architectural, Gardening and Home Accessories. Custom designing available. 1104 E Washington St in Urbana. ThuSat 10am-5pm. 367-2367. Framer's Market – Frame designers since 1981. Ongoing work from local artists on display. 807 W Springfield Ave in Champaign. Tue-Fri 9:30am5:30pm, Sat 10am-4pm. 351-7020. Furniture Lounge – Specializing in mid-century modern furniture from the 1920s to the 1980s – retro, Danish modern, lighting, vintage stereo equipment and vinyl records. 9 E University in Champaign. Sun-Tues 12-4:30pm, Wed-Sat 115:30pm. 352-5150. 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 in Champaign. Mon-Thu 10am-5:30pm, Fri 10am-5pm, Sat 9am-4pm. www.glassfx.com. 359-0048.

Boneyard Pottery – Ceramic Art by Michael Schwegmann and others. 403 Water St in Champaign. Tue-Sat 11am-5pm. 355-5610.

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

Broken Oak Gallery – Local and national artists, original art including photography, watercolors, pottery, oil paintings, colored pencil, and woodturning. Refreshments served by the garden all day Saturday. 1865 N 1225 E Rd in White Heath. Thu-Sat 10am-4pm. 762-4907.

Hill Street Gallery Inc. – Oil and watercolor paintings, hand painted T-shirts, handmade jewelry. 703 W Hill in Champaign. Sat 12-5pm or by appointment during the week. 359-0675.

Café Kopi – “Digital Evolutions,” photographs by John Sfondilias on display through February. 109 N Walnut in Champaign. Mon-Thu 7am-11pm, Fri-Sat 7am-12pm, Sun 11am-8pm. 359-4266. Creation Art Studios – Featuring original art by students and members of the studio. 1102 E Washington St in Urbana. Mon-Fri 3-5:30pm, Sat 14pm and other scheduled studio times. For more information, call Jeannine Bestoso at 344-6955.

Larry Kanfer Gallery – European Collection featured in the gallery. Both limited and open edition prints by Larry Kanfer, nationally acclaimed photographer. 2503 S Neil in Champaign. Free and Open to the Public. Mon-Sat 10am-5:30pm. 3982000. www.kanfer.com. Laser’s Edge – Oil paintings on canvas and framed etchings by Sandra Ahten along with work from Lee Boyer now showing. 218 W. Main Street, Urbana. Mon-Fri 9am-5pm. 328-3343.

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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 in 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 in Champaign. Mon-Thu 11am-5:30pm, Sat 11am4:30pm. 355-8338. Prairie Boatworks Gallery – Beautifully hand-crafted gift items and unique Valentine’s Day cards. Also, over 35 regional artist to choose from. 407 E Main St in Mahomet. Tue, Fri, Sat 10am-5pm, Sun 12-4pm. 586-6776. For more information, contact Mary at 356-8228 or tangoradesigns@aol.com. Steeple Gallery – Vintage botanical and bird prints, antiques and framed limited edition prints. 102 E Lafayette St in Monticello. Mon-Fri 9am-5pm, Sat 10am-4pm. www.steeplegallery.com. 762-2924. Verde Gallery – The work of local artist Sylvia Arnstein will be on display in the halls and café. 17 E Taylor St in Champaign. Cafe: Mon-Sat 7am-10 pm. Gallery: Tue-Sat 10am-10pm. 366-3204. Ziemer Gallery – Paintings and limited edition prints by Larry Ziemer. Pottery, weavings, wood turning and glass works by other artists. 210 W Washington in Monticello. Tue 10am-8pm, Wed-Fri 10am-5pm, Sat 10am-4pm. www.ziemergallery.com. 762-9786.

ART EXHIBITS 9th Biennial Ceramics Invitational – The Parkland invitational features the work of nine contemporary ceramic artists. This year's exhibit focuses on functional ceramics, with a specific look at the rich decorative surface that clay provides. The exhibit will be on display in the Parkland Art Gallery through April 9. 115 E. University, C. M-F, 10am3pm, M-Th, 6-8pm, Sat, 12-2pm. 351-2485.

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Desperate music, bloodthirsty band BY LOGAN MOORE | STAFF WRITER

The dark, tension-filled sound of the hurricane of positive press and critical praise. Rarely have five songs ever led to the death of album, shot through with moments of hope, so many trees. It is a credit to the band’s talent. may reflect the circumstances under which it Their friendship, musical and otherwise, with was conceived. “We recorded the EP right t seems at times the current musical land- “it” bands the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Liars, both after September 11 and it was a constant conscape is deluged with subgenres—arbitrary of whose albums Sitek has produced, helped versation, American foreign policy, the way category receptacles that critics love to toss stoke the fires as well. “It was good,” said the world was changing,” said Malone. The bands and movements into, leaving the aver- Malone, “but there is a danger inherent in being new full-length album is a subtle reaction to age music fan with a puzzled look, a headache, grouped in with anything the media is focusing the new world order as well. Malone disand a grotesquely lengthy list of Web sites to on. They tend to pigeonhole things. I mean cussed some of the thoughts and emotions visit and magazines to pick up. Psych-folk, lap- you’ve never heard a group of bands with more that went into it: “The feeling of powerlessdisparate sounds. ness, we’re being ruled by greed-driven madpop, punk-funk, elecBut, we know the men. Everyone I know protested. There were tro-hip-hop, dancebands and love mass protests all over the world. It was garage, ambientignored. The war happens, and thousands of them.” sneezing, ham-sandThe sound of the people were murdered over a fucking lie and wich-rock, retro-baseYoung Liars EP is a then the lie comes to light and no one is ment-cucumber-feedheady mix of swirling hanged. That’s a really frustrating place to be. back—how could any electronics, found I didn’t really know what to do about it except sane individual not sounds, industrial take every opportunity to talk out against feel entirely bewilKyp Malone grooves, ghostly gui- that. If a label takes the opportunity to put out dered by all this nont a r a n d T u n d e our album, we need to take the opportunity to sense? The simple Adebimpe’s eerie, speak out against what’s going on. To make answer is the presence soulful voice. The art out of it, but not so heavy-handed that it’s of more bands like TV on the Radio, bands that are essentially genre- music encompasses everything from punk, like propaganda.” The anticipation surrounding their debut less, a noise that is nearly impossible to com- industrial, latter-day psychedelia, soul, doowop and anthemic pop. The listener is left full-length Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes, municate via the printed page. TV on the Radio compose post-millenial breathless and wondering where such an had reached a fever pitch prior to its release. operas to the apocalypse, churning, thumping ambitious melding of sounds could come from. There was a lot of pressure on these boys to odes to the ghost inside the machine, doo-wop “What it comes down to is, we take everything produce some sort of masterpiece. “I think that inhabits not the street corners but the sub- we’ve ever experienced, everything we’ve ever initially I was sweating it,” said Malone. “If ways and the sewers beneath them, love songs listened to and that’s your creative mind. We the record was panned, I would’ve felt it was for radio static and car alarms. They are an all listen to very different music,” said Malone. my responsibility.” Desperate Youth, however, amazing little rock band out of New York state with a sound that is both alien and endearingly human; intelligent, visceral and at all times startlingly unique. Oddly enough, this most subterranean of sounds was birthed in the heart of the neonpink, hipster wonderland of Williamsburg, N.Y. Producer/multi-instrumentalist David Sitek hit it off with vocalist/ instrumentalist Tunde Adebimpe after the discovery of a plethora of instruments and recording equipment in Sitek’s living space. Tapes were exchanged and the seeds for their first songs were born in the four-track experiments made for one another. From these sessions at Sitek’s loft, ones that involved guest spots by members of illustrious up-and-comers the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Liars, came the sexy audio terrorism of the Young Liars EP in the summer of 2003. They soon picked up guitarist/vocalist Kyp Malone to flesh out their sound. “They recorded a record called O.K. Calculator and gave me a copy. I listened to it and loved it,” said Malone. “I saw them live a couple of times … I started playing songs on the EP Young Liars and I was really impressed by them. Then, they invited me to play with them.” The band ended up being the first act ever to be signed with the prestigious Touch and Go label based solely on the sound of their demo. The sheer originality of the EP coupled with its TV on the Radio are, David Sitek, Tunde Adebimpe and Kyp Malone. There new album Desperate Youth, origin in the nation’s current hot spot incited a Bloodthirsty Babes was released on March 9th.

delivers on all the promise of Young Liars, continuing to forge a bold, unique sound while bravely pushing the band’s sound into new sonic territory. Still, critics and record store clerks everywhere won’t know where to file the damn thing. “It doesn’t matter what anybody is saying anyway,” Malone said. A good attitude for what is surely to be one of the most fascinating new bands of the millennium. buzz

[

There is a danger inherent in being grouped in with anything the media is focusing on. They tend to pigeonhole things.

music

MARCH 18 - 24, 2004 | I HATE YOU GUYS ... FART JOKES ARE THE LOWEST FORM OF COMEDY.

[

Catch TV on the Radio on their U.S. spring tour. Check their Web site, www.tvontheradio.com for tour dates and additional information.

TV ON THE RADIO Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes Touch and Go

★★★★ BY LOGAN MOORE

PHOTO COURTESY OF TV ON THE RADIO

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“The Wrong Way”, the first track on TV on the Radio’s debut LP, begins with a playfully honking saxophone, before rhythmic piledriver feedback momentarily scares it away. It returns though, with a couple other horns to back it up in what will surely be a back alley brawl. Their secret weapon; Tunde Adempimpe’s voice exuding extraterrestrial street corner cool. Kyp Malone’s lilting falsetto joins the fray as well. Guitars wielding razor blades and electronic percussion armed with lead pipes and bike chains catch wind and tear things up a bit. By the end of the song, the sax is the only one who has made it out alive. Young Liars? What Young Liars? These are Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes. With the pressure to craft a masterpiece banging down the doors and windows of the studio,TV on the Radio have done what makes the most sense for three home-recording artists from the streets of New York: they’ve turned the focus inward, crafting an album of dark, insular brilliance. Where before the melodies were anthemic, the production Herculean, a call to arms, many of the songs on Desperate Youth are ethereal and haunting, vulnerable and filled with dark corners. Over the course of nine songs, TV on the Radio tear themselves apart, spotlighting individual elements of their brilliant synthesis of styles, only to build it all back up again on songs like “Poppy” and the aforementioned “Wrong Way.” “Poppy” is far more guitar-oriented than anything in the TVOTR canon. Hesitant drum machines are bolstered by churning, soaring Joy Division-esque riffs. All that gets lost, though, when the song falls away to spotlight a beautiful, layered, a capella duet between Malone and Adempimpe. Malone’s pronounced vocals are a brave addition to the mix on this album, Adempimpe’s having received so much praise on Young Liars, but it works to amazing effect. Malone is angelic where Adempimpe is soulful, human where he is super-human. They both sing their asses off and with so many mumblers and screamers out there it’s thrilling to hear to vocalists with such talent. The desolate, synth-driven, balladry of “Dreams” is a superb spotlight of the chemical reactions between these two, Adempimpe’s voice wailing and mournful up front whilst Malone stretches for otherworldly falsetto in the background. With Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes, TV on the Radio have placed themselves along such art-rock giants as Television and Roxy Music; bands that embraced the bizarre, shadowy crevices of pop music. When the Young Liars EP exploded out of nowhere, it left TVOTR with seemingly endless possibilities and their audience ravenous for what could come next. Happily, they are in the same position right now.

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HEY PHILIP, LET’S SEARCH FOR TREASURE | MARCH 18 - 24, 2004

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Spring Training 2004 : Four bands to see now in C-U Greg Maddux still hurt over the loss of Record Service MENDOZA MUSIC LINE SETH FEIN | STAFF WRITER

very year at this time, something happens to me. And I like it. Now that Spring Training has commenced and the Bartman Ball has been decimated, the Cubbies actually have a great chance to avenge last year’s horrible disappointment in the NLCS. My sport is back in season and because of it, these upcoming months of life just seem to get a little easier. In addition, the wealth of talent always peaks out in our music scene as well, and by summer, we have a whole new crop of bands to go and see in a live setting. As part of my job, I get to go to a lot of live shows. These four bands, at least in my humble opinion, made some waves this year and deserve some ink right now. So, in no definitive order, my Spring Training 2004: Bands-togo-see-now-muthafucka!-list. 1. AT KNIFEPOINT – It finally happened, damn it. Openingbands.com got so expansive that it brought together some of the best postrock that C-U has seen in years. Akin to such luminaries like Maserati, Explosions in the Sky and Sigur Ros, this very young band utilize all fronts of rock music. With a live string section and three-pronged guitar attack, their live shows move from sedative to incendiary within moments. Guitarist and “front-

man” Yejoon Koh generally leads these nine men and women into what could be misconstrued as hippie jams by the untrained ear, laden with drawn out A and B sections that may or may not get to where they are supposed to go. But believe me, these people aren’t potheads. At least, not according to their music. Each song is truly a composition. No guitar noodling, no conga drums, no grilled cheese sandwiches and no “heady nugs.” Just straight up great music. They have only performed a handful of times, but each time out has been an improvement on the previous attempt. Definitely for fans of Don Caballero, The Mercury Program and Adam’s Castle. 2. MELODIC SCRIBES – I’ve said it before and I have to say it again: I am not a hip-hop “head.” I tend to say stupid things when it comes to this genre that is suddenly so popular with the soccer moms. But, I suppose, you know good music when you hear it. Melodic Scribes are helping me to enjoy and embrace hip hop more. Fronted by Ryan Wukovits and Neil Pinan, they have made a lasting impression on the C-U scene over the year. This spring their first studio album drops, and they intend to take their show on the road. Fusing early “old skool” with modern influences like Atmosphere and Common, their show opening for Brother Ali had me throwing my hands up in the air. Yes, I felt uncomfortable about it, but for the rest of the crowd, the ones who are privy to the scene, it seemed like it was an unstoppable force. Needless to say, it is refresh-

The Hurly-Burly Sifting through the commotion and crap of music culture Kinski, Black Heart Procession, Sigur Ros, Arab Strap, and Califone with all be offering rare and unreleased material for tracks on the upcoming Shanti Project Collection 3. The Shanti Project is a San Francisco-based organization that focuses on improving the quality of life for people with life-threatening or chronic illnesses. Pinback will be bringing the indie in a cross-country tour this spring beginning March 19 and ending April 29, and supported by American Analog Set and Enon on a number of dates. The band recently released the Off Cell EP via Barsuk Records in June and have a full-length album due in August via Touch and Go Records. Dave Blood, former bassist of The Dead Milkmen , committed suicide March 9. He will be missed. Fans are encouraged to post thier thoughts,memories, and goodbyes on the band’s official message board at www.deadmilkmen.com.

What the hell? Moment of the week Kelly Wright is releasing an album of jazz standards. Kelly Wright is better known as voice of the plucky yellow Teletubby LaaLaa. The album will include classics such as “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea” and “Viva Las Vegas.” Rumors that original songs by LaaLaa such as “Vroom Vroom: The Vacuum Song” and “Fifi Poop” were cut from the album went unconfirmed at press time. A potential duet album with that creepy baby-faced sun thing is unconfirmed as well.

ing to hear hip hop that holds a standard in what they speak about. Rather than discuss “bitches and hoes drinkin’ pitchers at C.O.’s”, the Scribes pen lyrics that matter. Everything from politics and protests to the intricacies of relationships are rhymed over what continues to become more fluid beat production and seamless instrumentation. Don’t like hip-hop? Be glad that a scene is thriving here. It’s way more deck than rock right now, what with Creed breaking up and all. 3. DESAFINADO – I don’t know what to call this music because it blends so many different styles together into one set. Comprised of top-notch musicians and a singer whose voice could make a man get on his knees and thank God for the creation of the female, this band has become a regular at Cowboy Monkey for happy hour on the first Friday of each month. Percussion is key in this band and Chad Dunn, perhaps the most sought after percussionist in town, helps complete these tunes in a way that is reminiscent of good jazz mixed with tasty bits of calypso and merengue. I felt a good warmth at their last performance that I caught despite the frigid weather and mounds of snow outside. I am, again, not well-versed with this style of music and won’t pretend to be. But, did you ever just feel like you had been taken somewhere else when you watched a band that you had no idea about? That is like this and it’s delightful. 4. THE IDLE HOURS – During the time they were broken up, something must have

TopFive

snapped inside of Mark Villalobos’s mind. I mean, the kid’s a nutter butter to begin with, but with the shit that they’ve just written and a sound that is really on the cutting edge of indie and post-pop, one has to think something relevant happened. I mean, maybe a safe fell on his head or he threw himself into a sweat lodge on a reservation. My best guess is that it was simply the lack of bands that caused the swell of improvement and ferocity that they now possess. Whatever it was, they have honed in on what rock music is supposed to be about: unadulterated passion. Accessing the world of hidden sounds with transistor radios and odd keyboards while using a plethora of static TVs on stage, their performances have many heads turning in the Midwest as they have been on the road most every weekend this year. While there are no plans for an album just yet, you can be sure that if they do record, it will be one of the finer releases we’ll see all year. Highly recommended for fans of HUM, Dismemberment Plan and Foo Fighters (when they were good). So, there you have it. Bands to be seen, baseball to be watched. I’m driving to Arizona for Spring Training and when I get back, you can be sure that these bands will be playing somewhere in town. See you there. buzz

Seth Fein is from Urbana. He wants to know if it’s OK to be listening to the soundtrack to “Fiddler on the Roof” on vinyl more than anything else lately. You can tell him at sethfein@readbuzz.com.

Album Covers

1. Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band - The Beatles The most recognized, parodied and unique album cover to date.This may be a tried and true choice, but there is a reason: It is just that cool. A sort of “senior class photo,” this cover works as a shout-out to pop culture icons and Beatles influences.“Look, there’s Bob Dylan and Karl Marx. And look, some pot growing in front of them.” Colorful and creative, this album cover set the bar for a world of new things to come. 2. Sticky Fingers – The Rolling Stones A cover designed and photographed by Andy Warhol, this Stones cover continued with the ongoing sex and rock ‘n’ roll vibe of the Stones. Many assumed this tightly-clad nether region to be that of Mick Jagger, but was in fact a Warhol legion who was directed to “excite” himself to increase the effect. Coupled with its interactive zipper that revealed a pair of tighty-whiteys underneath, this album opened up new ideas for how albums were designed. 3. London Calling - The Clash Possibly the most iconic photo in the canon of rock. Mick Jones bent over, power stance, in the glare of the spotlight, swinging his axe to the

ground, absorbed in the glory of rock ‘n’ roll. The photo, like the album, communicated all the visceral exhiliration of straight up rock ’n’ roll.The lettering referenced the first Elvis LP. At the end of the day, The Clash knew they shared the crown with The King himself. 4. Nothing’s Shocking - Jane’s Addiction Naturally, this album with two naked woman on the cover sparked controversy and was initially banned and censored by many. The title itself juxtaposes the reality of the situation in that in our desensitized state, we should be shocked by nothing, but many were by this album. 5. Homogenic - Bjork Aah, she’s no longer a cutesy pop pixie, boys and girls. She’s an ice-cold, art diva from Japan via Jupiter. The bizarre, striking nature of Homogenic’s cover, androgynous diva, queen of silvers, pinks and blues reflected the alien soundscapes of cutting edge electronica and brooding Russian strings. Albums that reinvent pop music should have covers that grab your attention in the record store.

Next week: Top five ugly old rockers What’s yours? e-mail us at music@readbuzz.com

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MARCH 18-24, 2004 | WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com

WednesdayMarch24 LIVE MUSIC Discider, Human Order, Hollowed Out, Fuck Cars – hardcore – Red Herring, 8pm, $5 Kilborn Alley – Tommy G's, 9pm, free Terminus Victor, Bible of the Devil, Monster Honkey – Mike 'n Molly's, 10pm, cover Hard Poor Korn – Rose Bowl Tavern, 9pm, free

DJ DJ Chef Ra – roots/rock/reggae – Barfly, 9pm, free Dream Sequence – house – Caffe Paradiso, 10pm, free d-Lo and Spinnerty – Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, $1 Northstar Lounge hosted by Czar Absolute – slam poetry and hip hop DJs – Nargile, 10pm, $1 Irish Traditional Music Session – Bentley's Pub, TBA, free

KARAOKE Rock n' Roll Karaoke with The Cheezy Trio Highdive, 10pm, $3 "G" Force Karaoke – Elmers Club 45, 7-11pm

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 and Noble 51 E Marketview, Champaign, 355-2045 Boltini Lounge 211 N Neil, Champaign, 378-8001 Borders Books & Music 802 W Town Ctr, Champaign, 3519011 The Brass Rail 15 E University, Champaign, 352-7512 Canopy Club (Garden Grill) 708 S Goodwin, Urbana, 367-3140 Channing-Murray Foundation 1209 W Oregon, Urbana 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 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 Lowe’s Big Barrel & Summer Club 14 N Hazel, Danville, 442-8090 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 Sweet Betsy's 805 S Philo Rd, Urbana 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 MARCH 3/18 Australian Pink Floyd @ Rosemont Theatre 3/18 Camper Van Beethoven, Cracker @ Vic 3/18 Eric Johnson @ Park West, all-ages 3/18-19 Melissa Etheridge @ House of Blues 3/18-19 Assassins @ Schubas 3/19 Johnny Dowd @ Subterranean 3/19 Dream Theater @ Riviera 3/19 Britney Spears, Kelis @ Allstate Arena 3/19 Starlight Mints @ Abbey Pub 3/19 Dada @ Park West 3/19 Doors of the 21st Century @ Auditorium Theatre 3/19 Indigenous @ Martyrs’ 3/20 Jewel @ Star Plaza 3/20 Liars, Young People @ Logan Square Auditorium 3/20 Macabre @ Oasis 160 3/21 Amon Tobin, Kid Koala @ Metro, 18+ 3/21 Jump 5 @ Durty Nellie's, all-ages 3/21 Thea Gilmore @ Gunther Murphy's 3/22 Clay Aiken, Kelly Clarkson @ United Center 3/23 Ted Leo/Pharmacists @ Logan Square Auditorium 3/23 Three Days Grace @ Metro 3/24 12 Stones, Skillet, Pillar, Grits, Big Dismal @ House of Blues 3/24 Yngwie Malmsteen, George Lynch @ Joe’s 3/24 Cass McCombs @ Bottom Lounge 3/25 Distillers @ Metro, all-ages 3/25 Hoobastank @ House of Blues, all-ages 3/26 Newsboys, Rebecca St. James @ UIC Pavilion 3/26 American Music Club @ Old Town School of Folk Music 3/26 Dolly Varden @ Subterranean 3/26 Al Green @ House of Blues 3/26 Great Big Sea @ Metro, 18+ 3/26 Franz Ferdinand @ Empty Bottle 3/26 Proclaimers @ Abbey Pub 3/26 Slip @ Double Door 3/26 Southern Culture on the Skids @ FitzGerald’s 3/26 TV On the Radio @ Empty Bottle 3/26 R. Kelly @ Allstate Arena 3/26-27 Al Green @ House of Blues 3/27 Mad Caddies @ Metro 3/27 Campbell Brothers, Calvin Cooke @ Old Town School of Folk Music 3/27 John Gorka @ Schubas 3/27 Lost Sounds @ Subterranean

3/27 Insiders @ FitzGerald's 3/27 My Robot Friend @ Metro, 18+ 3/27-28 Mekons @ Double Door, (27); FitzGerald's, (28) 3/29-31 Neko Case & The Sadies @ Schubas 3/30 Ill Nino @ House of Blues, 3/30, all-ages 3/31 Adler’s Appetite @ Joe’s 3/31 George Clinton & The P-Funk All-Stars @ House of Blues

APRIL 4/1-2 Decemberists @ Schubas 4/2 Joan Baez @ Pick-Staiger Concert Hall 4/2 Beyonce, Alicia Keys, Missy Elliott @ Allstate Arena 4/2 Jonatha Brooke @ Park West 4/2 Graham Colton @ Double Door 4/2 Sound Tribe Sector Nine @ Vic 4/2 Star Spangles @ Lyons Den 4/2-3 Blonde Redhead @ Abbey Pub 4/3 Rod Piazza @ Buddy Guy's Legends 4/3 Preston School of Industry @ Schubas 4/3 Grandaddy, Saves the Day @ Riviera 4/3 Weirdos @ Subterranean 4/3 Particle @ Park West, 18+ 4/3 Josh Wink @ Smart Bar 4/4 Unicorns @ Logan Square Auditorium, all-ages 4/4 Floetry @ House of Blues 4/6 Chayanne @ Rosemont Theatre 4/6 Van Hunt @ Double Door 4/6 Method Man @ House of Blues, 18+ 4/7 Stereolab @ Vic 4/7 Twilight Singers @ Metro 4/7 Van Morrison @ Chicago Theatre 4/7 16 Horsepower @ Abbey Pub 4/8 Geoff Farina @ Schubas 4/8 Trapt, Smile Empty Soul @ House of Blues, all-ages 4/8 Sugarcult @ Metro, all-ages 4/8 N.E.R.D., Black Eyed Peas @ Riviera, 18+ 4/9 Weird War @ Empty Bottle 4/9 Switchfoot @ Vic 4/9 Ruben Studdard @ Auditorium Theatre 4/9 Squarepusher @ Metro 4/9 Midnight Creeps @ Lyons Den 4/9 Roomful of Blues @ Buddy Guy's Legends 4/9 I:Cube @ Smart Bar 4/9 Henry Butler, Jon Cleary, Dr. Michael White @ Old Town School of Folk Music 4/9 Local H @ Metro, all-ages 4/9 & 16 Herbie Hancock @ Symphony Center 4/9-10 B.B. King @ Star Plaza

4/10 DJ Shadow @ Park West, 18+ 4/10 Wanda Jackson @ FitzGerald's 4/10 Bret Michaels @ Joe's 4/10 Tom Russell, Jim Lauderdale @ Old Town School of Folk Music 4/11 Fantomas, Melt-Banana @ Metro 4/12 Story of the Year @ House of Blues, all-ages 4/13 Sleepy Jackson @ Schubas 4/13 Stellastarr @ Double Door 4/13 Rufio @ Metro, all-ages 4/14 Sarah Harmer @ Martyrs' 4/15-16 Bonnie Prince Billy, Joanna Newsom @ Open End Gallery (4/15), Logan Square Auditorium (4/16) 4/15-16 Death Cab for Cutie, Ben Kweller @ Vic 4/15-16 Willy Porter @ FitzGerald's (15), Martyrs' (16) 4/16 A Perfect Circle, Mars Volta @ UIC Pavilion 4/16 Thrills @ Metro 4/16 Orchestra Baobab @ HotHouse, two shows 4/16 Eddie From Ohio, Luther Wright & the Wrong @ FitzGerald's 4/16 Baaba Maal @ Old Town School of Folk Music, two shows 4/16 Mason Jennings @ Abbey Pub, 18+ 4/16 Peter Mulvey @ Schubas 4/17 Asylum Street Spankers @ Schubas 4/17 Mustard Plug @ Metro, all-ages 4/17 Ellis Paul @ Schubas, two shows 4/17 Pinback, Enon @ Logan Square Auditorium, all-ages 4/17-18 Rebirth Brass Band @ Martyrs' 4/18 Rasputina @ House of Blues, 18+ 4/18 Renee Fleming @ Symphony Center 4/20 Air @ Riviera 4/20 Iced Earth @ Metro, all-ages 4/20 Karl Denson’s Tiny Universe @ House of Blues, 18+ 4/20 Sebadoh @ Abbey Pub 4/21 Delirious, David Crowder Band @ Vic, all-ages 4/21 Joss Stone @ House of Blues 4/22 Leon Russell @ Bottom Lounge 4/23 Crystal Method @ House of Blues, all-ages 4/23 Morbid Angel @ Oasis 160, all-ages 4/23 Savath & Savalas w/ Prefuse 73 @ Abbey Pub 4/23 Yellowcard, Something Corporate @ Riviera 4/23 Strokes @ Aragon, sold out 4/24 Robert Walter’s 20th Congress @ Abbey Pub 4/24 Bad Plus @ Martyrs’ 4/24 Fruit @ Schubas 4/24 Indigo Girls @ Auditorium Theatre 4/24 Tony Rice & Lonesome River Band @ Old Town School of Folk Music

92.9% of U of I students think people risk harming themselves

e sitting* by having five or more drinks in on

If you have any questions, please call the Alcohol & Other Drug Office at

333-7557

*Based on a representative sample of students surveyed at the University of Illinois in April 2001. 1 drink = 12oz beer = 4- 5oz wine = 1oz shot

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WANT TO GET YOUR EVENT LISTED ON OUR CALENDAR? Send your listings to calendar@readbuzz.com | MARCH 18-24, 2004

ThursdayMarch18

FridayMarch19

LIVE MUSIC

Better Than Ezra – Canopy Club, 7pm, $15 Yanni – Assembly Hall, 7pm, $35-$55 Acoustic Music Series: Paul Musser – Aroma, 8pm, free Pro-Choice Rock: X-Chords, Kate Hathaway, Illini Contraband – Courtyard Cafe, 8pm, TBA U of I #2 Big Band – The Iron Post, 9pm, TBA Ear Doctor – Zorba's, 9:30, $3 Country Connection – Rose Bowl Tavern, 9pm, free DJ J-Phlip – house – Barfly, 9pm, free DJ Delayney – hip hop, house – Nargile, 10pm, $5 TYME Productions: DJ Dance Party – Highdive, 10pm, $5 Fabulous! – electro-clash/dance punk – Nargile, 10pm, $5

The Prairie Dogs – Cowboy Monkey, 5-7pm, $2 Happy Hour: Bruiser and Dawna Nelson – blues – Tommy G's, 5pm, free In Your Ear Big Band – Highdive, 5:30pm, $3 The Delta Kings – The Phoenix, 9pm, TBA The Violents, It Burns, The Situation – Brass Rail, 10pm, cover Hells Bells – AC/DC tribute band – Canopy Club, 10pm, $5 Mike Ingram CD Release Party: Mike Ingram, Adam Wolfe and friends, Larry Gates – Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, $4 X-Krush – Tommy G's, 10pm, cover The Beat Kitchen – funk – Nargile, 11pm, $5 Country Connection – Rose Bowl Tavern, 9pm, cover Dan, Bob & Joni – Hubers, 8pm

MUSIC PERFORMANCE

UI Symphony Orchestra – Rossini's Overture to The Italian Girl in Algiers, Prokofiev's Piano Concerto No. 3, Britten's Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis, Foellinger Great Hall, 7:30pm, $5, sc $4, stu $2 Urbana High School Guest Artist Concert ft. Jim Walker, flutist – Urbana High School, 7:30pm, $10, stu $6

DJ Bozak – Barfly, 9pm, free DJ Impact – house – 10pm, Nargile, $5 DJ Tim Williams – dance – Highdive, 10pm, $5

KARAOKE

Swing Guitars – Borders, 8pm, free Nu-Orbit meets Ear Doctor – Cowboy Monkey, 8pm, $5 Candy Foster and Shades of Blue – rhythm and blues – The Iron Post, 9pm, TBA Andy Lund, Brandon T. Washington – Embassy Tavern, 9:30pm, free The Dednecks – Tommy G's, 10pm, cover Country Connection – Rose Bowl Tavern, 9pm, cover Blues Deacons – blues – The Phoenix, TBA New Twang City – Hubers, 8pm Brian Boyd – Strawberry Fields, lunchtime, free

"G" Force Karaoke – Pia's in Rantoul, 9pm-1am

AROUND TOWN Wine Tasting – Sample wine, learn about the different kinds and buy full glasses for $3.50 per glass. Krannert Center lobby, 5pm, free.

SaturdayMarch20 LIVE MUSIC

buzz

DJ Sophisto – house – Barfly, 9pm, free DJ Tim Williams – dance – Highdive, 10pm, $5 Digression Sessions: Techno and Jungle DJs – Lucky Star Chinese Restaurant, 9pm, $3 DJ Greg Norwood – Nargile, 10pm, $5 2ON2OUT – Cowboy Monkey, 11pm, free DJ Mertz – Nargile, 10pm, $5

2ON2OUT – indie rock – Barfly, 9pm, free Chill in the Grill – hip hop – Canopy Club, 10pm, free DJ Betty Rocker – indie rock – Mike 'n Molly's, 10pm, free Case of the Mondays – house – Nargile, 10pm, free

KARAOKE

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

"G" Force Karaoke – Historic Lincoln Castle Hotel Alumni Tap Bar, 9pm-1am

buzz

MUSIC PERFORMANCE KARAOKE "G" Force Karaoke – Kam's, 10pm-2am

SundayMarch21

COMEDY DeBono – improv comedy – Courtyard Cafe, 910pm, free

LIVE MUSIC Crystal River – Rose Bowl Tavern, 8:30pm, free

DJ Fresh Face DJ – Barfly, 9pm, free Spundays: DJ Delayney – hip hop & soul – Boltini, 10pm, free Blends By Otter – Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, free Reel to Reel and the Wheels of Steel: Spicerack Movies with soundtrack provided by DJ Spinnerty & DJ Bozak – Mike 'n Molly's, 10pm, $1 Downtempo Lounge Night: DJ Fritz – Nargile, 10pm, free Adam Wolfe's Acoustic Night with Jess Greenlee – Tommy G's, 10pm, free

LIVE MUSIC Open Bluegrass Jam Session – Verde Gallery, 7pm, free Jiggsaw, Comfortable For You, Goodby Blue Monday – Nargile, 9pm, $3 Open Jam/Open Mic hosted by Openingbands.com and Mike Armintrout – Canopy Club, 10pm, $2 Crystal River – Rose Bowl Tavern, 9pm, free

MondayMarch22

DJ Resonate – hip hop – Barfly, 9pm, free DJ PBR – Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, free NOX: DJ ZoZo, DJ Kannibal, DJ Rickbats – goth and industrial – Highdive, 10pm, $2

LIVE MUSIC Open Mic – Za's Italian Cafe, 7pm, free Jazz Jam hosted by ParaDocs – The Iron Post, 7:30pm, TBA Open Mic Night hosted by Mike Ingram – Cowboy Monkey, 10pm, $2

LOSTPROPHETS Start Something Columbia Records

TuesdayMarch23

COMEDY Spicy Clamato – improv comedy – Courtyard Cafe, 9-10pm, free

KARAOKE "G" Force Karaoke and D.j. – Lincoln Castle Lodge/Alumni Bar, 8pm-12am

presents…

Orlando Espinoza Spring/Summer 2004

★★ BY ANDY SIMNICK

Although the adage “third time’s a charm” is applicable most of the time, it doesn’t always apply to the musical world. The debut album from Lostprophets, Start Something, is a perfect example of this exception. Following the current subgenre of California, radio-friendly hard rock, Lostprophets clearly follow in the vein of Incubus and Hoobastank. However, the album does not have the style or technicality of Incubus nor the variety or hooks of Hoobastank. While this does not necessarily make it a poor outing, the hackneyed songs and the bland feel make it a forgettable release. The criticism of this album is not solely due to its similarities to other popular bands with similar styles. There is nothing wrong with variations on an enjoyable theme. However, when pushing through the faux-aggressive tracks such as “We Still Kill the Old Way” and “Burn, Burn”, tired concepts multiply, and by the end of the 12th track, there is nothing that sticks and provokes another listen. The single “Last Train Home” is the relative money shot on the album.This harmony-laden single is responsible for creating a rather large buzz about the band.Once this song is taken from its radio environment, the catchiness fades remarkably quickly.The harmonies are still there,but it really is a shame that a promising single crashes out so fast. I am being generous with the rating for this disc, as I have listened to much worse in my day. And I’ll even throw in an extra half-star for the cover art on the album as the Gothic lettering and urban hoodied hermit spoke volumes to me. Well, not really, but it did make me appreciate The Reason by Hoobastank more than before. If you’re still curious to hear the rest of the band’s material, then by all means do it. Otherwise, look elsewhere as there’s very little within that makes this a worthwhile purchase.

ELBOW Cast Of Thousands V2

★★★★

Trunk Show Sunday, March 21st 11am-4pm

107 N. Walnut Downtown Champaign 359.2195 M-Th 10:30-5:30 F-Sat 10:30-5:00 Sun 11:00-4:00

music

MARCH 18 - 24, 2004 | HELLO BARKY, HELLO PURRY

CDReviews

031804buzz1114

BY SHADIE ELNASHAI

The hype surrounding Elbow’s 2001 debut, Asleep In The Back, was unwarranted. Whereas it was certainly not lacking in quality, its low-key understatement deemed inappropriate the exaggerated superlatives it received. With the follow-up Cast Of Thousands, the band makes good on its earlier promise, repeatedly demonstrating a deeper understanding of music than the majority of their more commercially-oriented peers. Neglecting the crashing guitars and catchy anthems that are indicative of the British alternative rock scene, Elbow constructs one of the most enjoyable listens the genre has produced in years. One of the most prominent features is the instant malleability of the Manchester quintet.Seldom could the heartfelt ballad “Fugitive Motel”, complete with string accompaniment, directly precede the tribal beats and interjected screams of “Snooks.” Even when an industrial distortion invades the otherwise calm jazz-tinged melody “I’ve Got Your Number,” it somehow still seems logical. At one point, the album utilizes the same gospel-choired glam-rock that Stereophonics so poorly attempted on their last release, and if evidence were required that Radiohead have influenced Elbow, “Crawling With Idiot,” a track that evokes Amnesiac, will settle the matter. Thematically, the album is equally complex.

Superficially, it appears to deal with failed love, but the casual apathy with which vocalist Guy Garvey delivers his lines elevates the lyrics to eloquent soliloquies that cynically bewail love, rather than simply whine about them. Thus in “I’ve Got Your Number,” he advises,“Don’t put this letter in the pocket near your heart / Keep it in the bottom drawer where you hide the sex tools / I pray you always need them,” yet maintains an indifferent tone. This unique manner is further realized during “Not A Job,”a rare breed of song about working life, which strictly refuses to be a call to arms or rebellion. However, the most notable track is the haunting and moving “Switching Off,” which offers ambiguous interpretations, neither of which are anything short of depressing. It is unusual to find so much worthy material within an album as easy to like as this one. But this is the work of talented and dedicated musicians who are in the process of evolving and improving. It reveals the unimaginative incompetence that afflicts many more mainstream alternative-rockers, for this is a truly worthwhile endeavor.The culmination to the “story” occurs during the penultimate track, “Grace Under Pressure.” It provides the optimistic conclusion to the hitherto downbeat wisdom of Mr. Garvey, who is here joined by fellow Mancunian and Doves frontman Jimi Goodwin. The defining moment is when the titular and literal cast of thousands—incidentally recorded at the Glastonbury Festival—chimes in with the two-fingered defiance that accompanies the line “We still believe in love so fuck you,” in the process embodying everything this album is about.

JASON ANDERSON New England K Records

★★★ BY JACOB DITTMER

K Records is a big happy family and at the head of the table sits the label’s founder Calvin Johnson of Beat Happening and various other projects. K Records has found a place in the independent music scene with numerous talents passing through Johnson’s Dub Narcotic Studios in Olympia, Wash. Most notable alumni and members of the K Records family are Modest Mouse, Beck, The Microphones, Mirah and Johnson’s own Dub Narcotic Sound System. From this wealth of talent and opportunity a new promising artist has come to rest at the dinner table with the K Records family. Jason Anderson has worked under the previous moniker of Wolf Colonel and now has collaborated with The Microphones Phil Elvrum in producing his first solo effort, New England. With Elvrum at the production helm, Anderson crafts wonderful arrangements of folk and indie rock music. At times, it has the hushed melancholy sounds that many associate to a Microphones record and at other times a “bar band” type of atmosphere comes out with pounding pianos and guitar riffs. Elvrum has brought his mastering of the lo-fi sound with several songs on this record sounding as though they were recorded in Elvrum’s living room. That is the strength of many K Records albums—the sense of impromptu performances, one takes and friends joining in a sing-along. Other songs have Anderson and Elvrum singing duets, notably “You Fall” and “Thanksgiving” (which is actually an Elvrum-penned song included on New England).“You Fall” is a wonderful duet of the two’s voices intertwining on a spiraling sound of guitar strums and piano chords. On “A Book Laid on its Binding,”Anderson sings yet another duet over piano pleasantries with the luscious voice of yet another family member, Mirah. Many of the songs flow together seamlessly, creating the album’s overall feeling of “Anderson and friends jamming in his living room.” On “Hold On,” what seems like the entire K Records family joins in a chorus chanting “Hold on,” complete with Johnson’s deep bass voice filling in the lows. As if having your friends joining in for sing-alongs and guest vocals wasn’t enough to evoke the “family and friends” motif, Anderson includes two tracks of holiday nostalgia with aforementioned “Thanksgiving” and the concluding track,“Christmas.” Although it doesn’t have the sheer brilliance of a Microphones record, Anderson does harbor similar talents to this family’s greatest member. With thoughtful lyrics, subtle yet complex arrangements, and emphasis on creative production, New England is yet another achievement for the K Records family. Go on, Calvin, tack this one on the fridge.

DIE TRYING Die Trying Island Def Jam

★★ BY JESS HANNAH

In the early 1980s, The Waitresses knew what boys liked. In 1997, Jay-Z knew what girls liked. Three years later, the ostensible Vitamin C followed suit, and finally, in 2003, Die Trying restates this claim one more time. When Christopher Butler wrote the song,“I Know What Boys Like,” I’m sure he could have only hoped this song would span popularity for over two decades and across four genres of music. With the salacious Los Angeles underground musician Roxy Saint in tow, Die Trying takes on this song (now dubbed “Dirty Dirty”) in a virtuosic manner. At least as close to virtuosic as an angry, aggressive, alternative metal band can be in their self-titled debut album. With heavy guitar riffs, abrasive vocals, an overtly sexual cameo by Roxy Saint and only appropriately corresponding lyrics,“Dirty Dirty” opens with an a cappella Jassen Jensen rehashing Butler’s recycled maxim as only a volatile rock vocalist can. With the combined rage of Linkin Park and the Deftones, Die Trying is an entire album of angst-ridden, heartbroken love-sucks songs.This sentiment is apparent in the song titles alone: “One Day at a Time,” “Love and Guns,” “F*** You,” “Words that Kill,” “Die Trying” and “So Long.” The self-deprecating lyrics are packed so tightly with emotion, it is exceedingly reminiscent of Alkaline Trio’s Goddammit (1998). The album, overall, is of no better quality than can be described as completely average. The sound is similar to every other alternative metal band on the scene in the past five years. The look is similar. The emotions, lyrics, and songs are all too similar. The album is far too reminiscent of so many other angry metal/punk/rock bands, that it fails to possess any singular exceedingly redeeming quality. Linkin Park has Chester Bennington’s unmistakable voice. Rage Against the Machine has the phenomenal Tom Morello’s guitar emphatics along with, the also distinctive, Zack de la Rocha. The Deftones have Abe Cunningham commanding the intensity behind the drums. Die Trying has to keep trying.They have potential, stemming from the emotionally intense lyrics and imposingly brooding guitar refrains. This freshman effort is a musically sound album that fails to exceed average quality nu-metal.

CHARTS PARASOL RECORDS TOP 10 SELLERS 1. The Comsat Angels - It's History (Nano) 2. Franz Ferdinand - Franz Ferdinand (Domino) 3. Sufjan Stevens - Seven Swans (Sounds Familyre) 4. TV On The Radio - Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes (Touch And Go) 5. Shalini - Metal Corner (Dalloway) 6. José González - Veneer (Imperial) 7. Bonnie - Prince" Billy "Greatest Palace Music (Drag City) 8. The Bigger Lovers - This Affair Never Happened... (Yep Rock) 9. Deerhoof - Milk Man (Kill Rock Stars) 10. Now It's Overhead Fall Back Open (Saddle Creek)

MUSIC REVIEW GUIDE

★★★★ ★★★ ★★ ★ no stars

Flawless Good Mediocre Bad Unlistenable

031804buzz1213

3/17/04

4:41 PM

Gotta get away with

Terminus Victor

release from all things stressful. Expect to hear music from The Rapture, !!!, New York

music loud, fast and danceable. These boys know how to get a crowd going. Their live act feeds energy to

Dolls and others, including quality â&#x20AC;&#x2122;80s tunes and everything glam rock. And if you like

the crowd and creates an intense mood that makes you remember the songs and continue hearing them

Thursdayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s scene, check out Fabulous! every Wednesday night starting March 31.

for days after the show. The band has been making music for the past five years and shows no signs of

Fabulous! starts at 10 p.m. Thursday night at Nargile. Cover is $5.

slowing down on- or offstage. The bandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s live act is fast-paced, loud and intense in all aspectsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;vocals,

ead to Nargile Thursday to check out Fabulous!, DJing with an electro-clash and dance punk twist to it. It is a night of dancing for every lover of music, the perfect

F Jiggsaw

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buzzpicks abulous! DJing, Dancing

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his two-man band has endless amounts of energy, creating music not only heavy on rock and hardcore music but also music that has no boundary and cannot be labeled as one genre. The band makes

guitar and drum machine. Catch Terminus Victor along with Bible of the Devil and Monster Honkey at Mike 'n Molly's Wednesday night at 10 p.m..

! WEEK PLUS A LITTLE BIT MORE IN THE LIFE OF #HAMPAIGNn5RBANA

shakes things up

CU in 7 plus

4HIS IS THE HEARTLAND OF !MERICA ! "IG 4EN UNIVERSITY hTOWNv

catchy. The band constructs songs and beats you wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t soon forget, and the songs are

WITH RICH DIVERSITY THAT EXTENDS WELL BEYOND CAMPUS BOUNDARIES

guaranteed to get your energy going. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hard rock with a touch of emotion, music you not

#5 IN PLUS IS A LOVING PHOTOGRAPHIC PORTRAIT OF THESE CITIES AND

only hear but that you also feel and want to hear more of as each song nears its end.

THE SURROUNDING AREA ! MID SIZED COMMUNITY LIKE SO MANY

Check out Jiggsaw along with Comfortable For You and Goodby Blue Monday Tuesday at

OTHERS ILLUSTRATED HERE BY DOCUMENTING BOTH THE RAW AND THE

Nargile. The show starts at 9 p.m. with a $3 cover.

BEAUTIFUL *UST LIKE A FAMILY THIS PLACE HAS A WIDE VARIEY OF PEOPLE

iggsaw is a three-member local band that takes influences from punk rock, classic rock and everything in between, and creates sounds that are equally fast, loud and

Jillianâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s and Miller Lite â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Good Call!

HAPPY SAD MOTIVATED EASY GOING UPWARDLY MOBILE TRYING TO GET BACK ON SOLID FOOTING #5 IN PLUS SHOWS THE REAL PLACE AND THE REAL PEOPLE

0ICK UP YOUR COPY AT LOCAL BOOKSTORES 4O ORDER AND FOR INFORMATION ABOUT THE BOOK GO TO WWW ILLINIMEDIA COM CU PLUS

For extra photos, check out readbuzz.com