Inside beat 2009-11-12

INSIDEBEAT NOVEMBER 12, 2009 • VOL. 27, NO. 11

THE WEEKLY ENTERTAINMENT MAGAZINE OF THE DAILY TARGUM

THEY’RE BACK 26 years after the groundbreaking NBC miniseries V first aired, ABC has updated the sci-fi franchise for a new generation

Page 2 • Inside Beat

November 12, 2009

A World of Woe and Almost Fatal Ground Balls

BY JASON STIVES MUSIC EDITOR

But the fact remains I was angry at times, almost physically pissed at watching the series regardless of its highs and lows on both sides.

The series was indeed one of the highlights of my year, and while I have stated time and time again my appreciation for both teams’ abilities, I’m amazed at what it does to people. I also blame the infuriating gloaters on Facebook for their abilities to brag or complain about the series through typed sentences and still annoy a journalism major. But I think I have been able to pinpoint the problem.

This is a country built on competition, dating back hundreds of years. The desire for independence from the British, the space race and even the cola wars were based on the premise of one upping the other for supremacy. In the world of sports, supremacy is domestic and territorial. New Jersey doesn’t have a baseball team so we have to choose based on location, and you wouldn’t expect someone in Bergen County to like the Phillies — you go with what is closest to home. Even more so is the fact that whichever team you are a supporter of, you want them to prosper, and all of the competition in the way of that is dead meat. It’s not like you need a rocket scientist to figure this whole thing out, but for someone like me who never even got competitive over class spelling bees or science fairs, feeling enraged at the events of a simple baseball game gave cause for alarm in my life. To quote a good friend of mine who has been a Phillies fan since he was on the bottle, “Now you know how I feel!”

EDITORIAL BOARD M ARGARET D ARIAS

The Toxic Avenger New World Stages / Stage 1 | A

BY MARC MANCE STAFF WRITER

Let’s break down The Toxic Avenger. Nerd goes on a berserk killing spree after being horribly mutated? Check. Blind girl who falls in love with the horribly mutated nerd? Check. A good amount of sexual and New Jersey jokes? Check.

Cross dressers? Check. Rock musical?! Check. As ridiculous as these ingredients might sound, mesh them together and you have one hell of a good time laughing at almost every given moment.

Set in the fictional town of Tromaville, New Jersey, toxic pollutants ravage the land because of a corrupt governor. Enter Melvin Ferd the Third (Nick Cordero, who created the role at the George St. Playhouse), a lanky, unconfident, pushover nerd

that tries to put an end to it. But, the governor finds out his intentions and has her goons dispose of him by throwing him into a barrel full of toxic. The Toxic Avenger is born as Melvin mutates, receives superhuman strength, and vows to put an end to whoever pollutes.

The play as a whole is satirical, sarcastic and humorous, with no hint of seriousness, but rather all laughs. There are scenes where Melvin rips off the arms and legs of his foes in a comedic fashion, with obviously fake props and blood, while the house band rocks out background music. Irony is shown through the interaction between Melvin and Sarah (American Idol’s Diana DeGarmo), a blind librarian who falls in love with “Toxie,” the name she gives him, despite his mutilated face.

INSIDEBEAT

EDITOR

TOM WRIGHT-PIERSANTI ASSOCIATE EDITOR

S TACY D OUEK ASSISTANT EDITOR

EMILY SCHACHTMAN

N IDHI S ARAIYA

JASION STIVES MUSIC EDITOR

BOOKS EDITOR

A DRIENNE V OGT

FILM EDITOR

COPY EDITOR

RAMON DOMPOR PHOTOGRAPHY EDITOR

M ICHAEL M ALVASIO

TOM WRIGHT-PIERSANTI

FASHION EDITOR

TV EDITOR

THIS WEEK’S CONTRIBUTORS TO INSIDE BEAT : Sukanya Dutta, Marc Mance, Ashley Park, Laura Silverman, Erin Sweeney.

Cover photo courtesy of ABC.

COURTESY OF CAROL ROSEGG

It’s a tough pill to swallow living in a state split between two Major League Baseball teams. It is even more frustrating being in a college split down the middle between love for two teams like the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Yankees.

Mind you, one will rarely get either side’s fans to agree on each other’s potential for greatness, and that will always be the case. The only thing each team’s fan base can agree on is a hatred for the New York Mets, with all due respect. What worried me about watching this year’s World Series (outside of the stress and almost suicidal tendencies I suffered watching Game Four) is how extremely vicious a man can become watching their team face off for glory.

For me, a Phillies fan wanting to see my boys repeat a World Series win, the ravenous nature of my sports viewing became almost suffocating and at times hurtful to the people around me. Not since my high school days — when I would willingly chew my teammate’s heads off in gym volleyball — have I have been snippy and at times downright vicious to my friends and family who were on opposing sides of I-95 as far as teams go. For someone like me who never gets into a competitive mindset, it was quite surprising to watch me yell at the Phillies entire hitting staff and wanting to punch a hole through my apartment wall.

How would I explain to housing services the softball size blemish in our living room? Thankfully, I have a restraint on my madness.

rant

Column • Theater

Rutgers Student Center 126 College Avenue, Suite 431 New Brunswick, NJ 08901 Phone (732) 932-2013 Fax (732) 246-7299 Email beat@dailytargum.com Web www.inside-beat.com Advertising in Inside Beat, Call (732) 932-7051 Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Their scenes together consisted of catchy tongue in cheek love duets entitled “Hot Toxic Love.”

The best part of The Toxic Avenger is the fact there is only a cast of five characters. There are two main actors (Melvin and Sarah) and the other three play ever y other character. There is even a scene where one of the actresses is on stage as both of her characters, arguing with each other in song. Not only were they good actors, but ever yone was on point with singing, infecting melodies in your head like the closing tune “Who Will Save New Jersey?”

Overall, the mix of music and the stoner comedy aspects of this musical make it a must-see, whether you are a regular play watcher or not.

GET INVOLVED and visit our weekly meetings held every MONDAY at 9:15 p.m. located at the RUTGERS STUDENT CENTER, suite 431

Books • Theater

November 12, 2009

Inside Beat • Page 3

RENT

THE SLOW VANISHING

Crossroads Theatre| A+

Maureen Sherbondy | A

BY NIDHI SARAIYA Maureen Sherbondy’s shor t stor y collection, The Slow Vanishing (September 2009), is aptly named.

Her tales are like a tasting menu, giving the reader only a moment to savor a great bite before moving onto the next course.

The themes of her stories also reflect this idea of holding onto fleeting moments.

Some, like “The Par ty Planner” and “What the Dead Desire,” ponder life in its final hour and others, like “Catching the Bus” and “Head above Water,” tackle moving on after death. Sandwiched between these serious pieces are comic tales like “Three Monkeys” and “Her Hair,” which sound like daydreams gone wrong. Sherbondy’s endearing characters and poignant descriptions about lives that are not too different from our own are the connecting thread.

Although The Slow Vanishing is Sherbondy’s debut shor t stor y collection, her talent as a poet shines through her work. Sherbondy, a Rutgers alumna, has written two poetr y compilations, After the Fairy Tale and Praying in Cof fee Shops, and has received numerous honors, including the Hart Crane Poetr y Award.

Sherbondy, drawing from her experiences of raising three sons, will please mothers with “Vanishing Sarah” and “Empty Nest.” But with stories about an Indian couple, a Jewish family and a tsunami sur vivor, it is clear that Sherbondy can see the world through a broad range of perspectives. Her ability to convey universal themes in five pages or less will win over just about anyone.

Excerpt from “Therapy”

E

dwin Push leased the Java Joe drive-through after an avid coffee drinker sued Java Joe. While pressing the speaker button on his cell phone, the claimant spilled his jumbo Sumatra and received multiple burns. The lawsuit increased Java Joe’s insurance premiums so much that a month after the lawsuit settlement, a FOR LEASE sign appeared in the Java Joe window.

A week before the sign was hung, Edwin Push completed his two thousand hours of counseling and received his North Carolina license allowing him to counsel patients without the super vision of Dr. Jillian, a man he had grown to dislike. The son of an inventor and entrepreneur, Edwin was more of a risk taker than other psychologists he knew. At a party thrown by his lawyer cousin, he’d gotten the idea for drive-through therapy when his cousin confided in him that he’d recently cancelled four consecutive appointments with his own psychologist.

“I’m a busy guy. Last-minute court appearances and all. If only it was like fast food, you know, a drivethrough type of business. One where you don’t have to make appointments.”

Edwin had never felt that bright light bulb glowing over his own head before – that jolt of discover y that his father experienced on a daily basis. But there it was. Poof. Light bulb. Idea. Drive-through therapy. No insurance accepted, no appointment required.

In this attention-deficit-disorder society, it seemed like a good idea – a drive-through talk, a sort of busy person’s confessional. Maybe it had been the three gin and tonics planting the seed that night. Maybe he was still young enough to tr y something different. When Edwin signed the one-year lease and took down the Java Joe sign, he felt a big smile spreading on his freckled face. In the mirror, the highlights in his brown-red hair glowed redder than ever before, as if suddenly the sun shone on him, or perhaps it was the light from his unique idea.

COURTESY OF DAVE RUBEL OF NJ SPORTS MEDIA

BOOKS EDITOR

BY ASHLEY PARK STAFF WRITER

Homosexuals and the homeless, AIDS and alcohol, drugs and drag queens — combine all that is socially taboo and you get something absolutely breathtaking: Rent, an electrically explosive play about friendship, love and life.

The Livingston Theatre Company, in its 12th season, presented Rent at the Crossroads Theatre in downtown New Brunswick. It ran from Nov. 5 to 8 with opening night completely sold out.

With its fist-pumping rebellious spirit, Rent challenged its audiences to re-evaluate prejudices and open their eyes to the shared human experience. At some points, it was absolutely shocking. The performers did things that left mouths agape in stunned surprise, since Rent involved some intimate caressing, dirty dancing and sexual innuendoes. Yet, the play was also deeply heartfelt. Its poignancy brought many of the audience members to tears.

Rent, a renowned Broadway masterpiece, chronicles the lives of poverty-line vagabonds on the streets of New York City. The musical begins on Christmas Eve, opening with Mark (Dave Destro), a freelance filmmaker, and his HIV-positive musician friend, Roger (Dave Seamon). Both grapple with heartbreak. Maureen (Annie Rutherford Lutz), Mark’s ex, recently dumped him for a woman, Joanne (Daphne Michelle Clark). Mimi (Sarah Esmi), an S&M dancer, becomes the new object of Roger’s affection. Meanwhile, Mark’s gay friend, Tom Collins (J. Aaron Boykin), starts a new relationship with a flamboyant cross-dresser Angel (Nick Cartusciello). Mark’s landlord Benny (Derrick L. Hicks) was a former friend who married for money and constantly demands rent from the loft-mates. Together, the friends endure harsh trials of love — forged and fallen. They are young men and women trying to find their place in the world — a story

most Rutgers students can relate to. Rent’s liberality and rebellious spirit truly caters to the tastes of a college environment.

The complex roles of Rent calls for a multitalented cast — a challenge the Livingston Theatre Company matched with ease. The gifted performers danced, sang and acted with believable drama and angst.

The music, originally written by Jonathan Larson, was performed with a hauntingly sublime beauty.

The cast delivered a tenderhearted rendition of the famous song “Seasons of Love.” A live pit orchestra played music from a dock behind the stage, creating beautiful harmonies in a cacophonous world.

For rejoicing Broadway-fanatics, Rent is a true musical — hardly a word goes unsung. The Livingston Theatre Company delivered a poignant and unbelievably powerful performance. Rent, proving there is “no day but today,” is an experience that should not be missed.

After 26 The isito

In 1983, NBC aired a two-part sci-fi miniseries called V. The sto Instead of showing up and shooting lasers, the aliens looke manufacture some resources they’d teach us their technological revealed. Now the miniseries has been updated into a slick sci-fi THE NEW SERIES Alien ships hover a few hundred feet above all the world’s major cities. A big-eyed, shorthaired, attractive woman who calls herself Anna appears on a screen and informs Earthlings that she represents these visitors and is here on a mission of peace. The world sighs and cheers, and everyone is relieved that first contact has been made.

But was it truly first contact?

What if first contact was made a long time ago, and some aliens have been lying dormant in our society, observing us and planning, as if they were a terrorist cell?

That’s the premise of V, the new sci-fi show on ABC based on a cult classic 1983 miniseries by the same name.

FBI agent Erica Evans (Elizabeth Mitchell, Lost), assigned to the anti-terrorism unit, notices that all the sleeper cells acting inside the United States see a huge drop in communication when the aliens arrive — except one.

She and her partner investigate this group and find out that a secret meeting is being held concerning them. After sneaking in, she and a handful of other attendees are given anesthetic shots and they have part of the skin on their head pulled back, to make sure they have a skull underneath.

The leader of the resistance informs the meeting’s attendees that there have been aliens living among us for 10 years. This isn’t a mission of peace, he says — it’s a takeover.

He knows this because, as we learn shortly after, his close friend Ryan Nichols (Morris Chestnut, Boyz N the Hood) is actually an alien.

Ryan has turned against his orders, though, and has taken up the cause of assisting mankind in resisting the invasion.

Then after a quick scuf fle we learn the reason for the skin-cutting: under their human facades, the aliens have reptilian skin and scar y snake eyes. Ryan, injured in the row, has a gash on his arm revealing his scaly interior that he must hide from his unknowing fiancée.

Erica’s son Tyler (Logan Huffman) is also involved with the Visitors. After taking a sanctioned trip to the mothership to stand in awe of their technology, he is recruited by a cute blonde alien who asks him to join an am-

bassador program. Erica soon finds videos of Tyler online spray-painting walls in suppor t of the aliens.

Meanwhile, Anna (Morena Baccarin, Firefly) has found a puppet she can use to spread the Visitors’ message. Newsman Chad Decker (Scott Wolf, Par ty of Five) interrupts her first press conference to scold reporters for asking her tough (meaning relevant) questions and says something awful, along the lines of “Are all the aliens as pretty as you?” Anna, realizing his journalistic skills are weak, asks him to conduct her first major TV inter view.

Before the inter view, Chad informs Anna that he’s going to be tough. She tells him that if that’s the case, the inter view is off. Chad backs down, lobs softballs the whole time, and his performance is celebrated by the Visitors’ public relations machine.

It is in this interview, though, that the show bogs itself down a bit in current politics. Anna pointedly talks about “change,” overtly referencing President Barack Obama’s campaign slogan. She then says that their medical technology can heal ever yone on Earth — if the point isn’t obvious enough, Chad clears it up by asking, “You’re talking about universal health care?”

So what political message is V tr ying to make? It makes some sense to use the leader of the Visitors to represent Obama. Like Anna, Obama rose to national attention despite a great deal of mistrust of his motives or background by much of America. But clearly Anna’s motives are evil — after all, she represents a group of secret-lizard people who have been stocking up on C4 and spying on Eathlings for a decade. Is the show really tr ying to equate our president to an evil creature plotting our doom while presenting an attractive public persona?

If you look past its trying-too-hard political theme, though, V gets it right on every level. Its special effects and CGI resemble those of a summer blockbuster, the acting and writing are spoton, and like its predecessor, it weaves topical and classic political themes into its message.

But to fully understand what makes the new V an excellent show, it helps to understand what made the original so brilliant.

6 Years, ors Return

ory dealt with an alien invasion, but it was not a typical attack. d and spoke like humans, and promised that if we let them l secrets. But as they gained our trust, a more sinister plan was i show on ABC. How does the remake match up to the original?

THE ORIGINAL

PHOTOS COURTESY OF ABC AND KENNETH JOHNSON

Kenneth Johnson’s V was a huge success in 1983. In its first run, the miniseries pulled in more than 80 million viewers. Originally intended to be a political thriller about the rise of fascism in America, V was tweaked to include aliens due to the recent surge in E.T.-centric films.

The change worked well, though. In fact, it worked perfectly. In the original V, the events played out a bit differently. There was no FBI investigation; the Visitors had everyone wrapped around their thumb. That is, everyone but scientists and one rogue cameraman.

With general ease, the Visitors took over the newspapers and TV stations and used them as propaganda machines. They also very quietly got all the world’s governments on their side.

Without much delay, they began publicly shaming scientists. After spreading a lie about how scientists were planning a conspiracy against the Visitors, they convinced mankind to turn in any scientists they could.

Happily, people began turning in their neighbors. A brave few hid scientists and their families in their garages and helped transport them through police barricades. This invasion had turned into the holocaust, and anyone who could figure out the aliens’ sinister plan was weeded out.

A group of scientists escaped and set up shop in an abandoned building. There they began building a resistance. Their symbol was a red “V” spray-painted on the propaganda posters plastered all over the world.

Young men were introduced into a program that taught them about the Visitors’ lifestyle and made them sympathetic to the cause. They were given a gun and asked to patrol their neighborhoods and turn in defectors.

There were no mixed metaphors in the original V: Though the aliens showed up with a smile on their face, they were clearly Nazis.

People constantly disappeared, young men were brainwashed and their logo even looked like a futuristic swastika.

And that’s what made V such a brilliant miniseries. In just more than three hours, the audience was introduced to a friendly alien race, then watched as they very slowly unraveled their villainous plan. It wasn’t until halfway

through the series that we were shown their scaly skin, or the awesome shot on their leader eating an entire guinea pig in one bite. The miniseries format allowed more characters to get screen time than a normal movie, but never allowed for a minute of filler. Watching the whole thing in one sitting is a treat because of how the plot flies along.

HOW THEY COMPARE It’s hard to take two excellent products, made 26 years apart and trying to accomplish different things, and say which is better. Both have excellent special effects for their respective eras — of course, the modern version looks much better. But they are both fantastic looking.

The original series gets the edge is in its format and approach to politics. Though the new V has just started and is poised to be an excellent series, it was fantastic that the old version presented a complete, satisfying story in just a few hours.

Politically, it will be difficult for the new series to continue its current trend across a whole show without turning off large sectors of its potential audience. The old show, though, got it just right. In alluding — sometimes subtly, sometimes obviously — to the Holocaust, it connected with all viewers’ knowledge of that dark historical period.

If you’re able to get your hands on a DVD of the miniseries V, you are in for a treat. But if you can’t, be sure to tune in to the new series. It is smart, exciting, intelligent and full of potential.

Page 6 • Inside Beat

November 12, 2009

Film • TV

10 things COURTESY OF ALLMOVIEPHOTO.COM

you didn’t know about

An Education

Lone Scherfig| B

BY EMILY SCHACHTMAN FILM EDITOR

Though An Education, directed by Lone Scherfig, provides a detailed glimpse into the suburban stylings of 1960s England and displays some great acting, its overwhelming flaw is twofold. First, the entire movie rests upon the supposition that mysterious David (Peter Sarsgaard) is so utterly charming he can sweep intelligent teenager Jenny (Carey Mulligan, Pride and Prejudice, Public Enemies) off her feet.

Second, the movie maintains an argument for an hour and 20 minutes only to turn and disagree with itself.

Though the film is in many respects fun and lively, the result still feels schizophrenic.

The film opens, cutely enough, with animated chalk lesson plans superimposed over scenes of girls in high school. These girls are groomed to be wellrounded; they learn physics and cooking, Latin and sewing, Jane Austen and lacrosse. The audience is then introduced to Jenny, a smart and pretty girl whose parents have determined she is going to Oxford. Thus Jenny works hard at all the activities shown in the credits, along with playing the cello, but we soon learn that she is disheartened and bored with her relentlessly studious life. Instead, Jenny loves Camus and jazz, smoking and drinking, art auctions and trips to Paris.

From there, the story traces Jenny’s relationship with the much older David, who offers her cello a ride in his flashy car one rainy afternoon (he suggests Jenny walk alongside the car to ensure neither she nor the cello are kidnapped). They begin dating and,

COURTESY OF ALLMOVIEPHOTO.COM

AMELIA

despite her misgivings about his shady professional life, she accepts his proposal of marriage and drops out of high school. It is only after she gives up everything that she realizes David is not all he presents himself to be.

Though Sarsgaard has played the straight man (Shattered Glass, Kinsey), he has just as often played unstable characters (Garden State, Boys Don’t Cry), and it is this image that Sarsgaard does not completely play against. He alternates between smarmy and suave, but little details like his insecurity about Jenny’s intelligence or his insistence on awkward baby names leave Jenny’s insistence on making a life with him a mystery.

Furthermore, when she realizes the full extent of his dishonesty, her return to school invalidates (without explanation) every complaint Jenny had about education. She accuses the educated women around her of being miserable frumps and her housewife mother of worse, yet she inevitably returns to education without resolving her issues with the life that this education provides. Mulligan perfectly shows her growth from naïve to love struck and finally — maturity. Still, the strange, unexplained shift in tone that perhaps satisfies viewers greedy for a happy ending leaves far too many questions about what Jenny really wanted in the first place.

Despite these complaints, the film still looks fantastically retro-cool and is worthwhile for fans of screenwriter Nick Hornby (About a Boy, High Fidelity). The film also features a hilariously cranky performance from Alfred Molina. An Education is a film worth renting for the performances and the visuals, just not for its shaky principles.

In honor of a television show that has been bringing “sunny days” to children around the world for the past four decades, here are 10 little-known facts about Sesame Street.

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Elmo is the only puppet in history to have testified before Congress.

Sesame Street has won 118 Emmys to date — the most for any television show in history.

A Birdseed Milkshake at Hooper’s Store cost $0.20 in 1969 and costs $2.99 now.

Although Big Bird is a curious 6-year-old and Oscar is a Grouch, the two are identical on the inside. At age 75, Carroll Spinney has been both characters since 1969.

Currently there are nine Elmo puppets, including a remotecontrolled version.

The Jim Henson Company has built over 5,000 puppets for Sesame Street over the past 40 years.

Why the name Sesame Street? The word "sesame," an allusion to the fabled command from The Arabian Nights, "Open, Sesame!" suggested excitement and adventure.

All of the Sesame Street Muppets have four fingers, except Cookie Monster, who has five.

Big Bird is covered with approximately 6,000 dyed North American turkey, rooster, ostrich and hackle feathers.

At the end of Sesame Street’s 40th season, 4,212 episodes will have aired.

Source: Sesame Workshop

BY CIARA COPELL STAFF WRITER

Mira Nair| B-

Though lacking central action at times, Amelia tells the amazing and tragic story of Amelia Earhart and proves to be a decent tribute to the aviatrix. The film, directed by Mira Nair (Vanity Fair), fairly sticks to the historical facts of Earhart’s life. It includes details of her famous cross-Atlantic flights along with her marriage to publicist George Putnam (Richard Gere) and rumored affair with Gene Vidal (Ewan McGregor), as well as her eventual disappearance on her attempted trip around the world.

Hilar y Swank delivers an outstanding performance in the lead role, capturing the essence of Earhart perfectly. Richard Gere and Ewan McGregor (Angels and Demons) also come through with good supporting performances.

Though the overall story of Earhart is fascinating, the film seems to drag in some places and. It could have been cut shorter and still have maintained the effective plotline. The biopic featured interesting editing — such as turning newspaper covers into live action — and good acting, but it was not stellar. Again, this is mostly due to a lack of action throughout the film.

There is also a subplot involving Elinor Smith (Mia Wasikowska), a younger pioneer in women’s aviation, but the film does not explain her role in aviation and the character does not contribute much to the movie at all. She appears in a few scenes to either add conflict or show Earhart’s compassion for woman fliers, but it seems like a completely random addition to the story.

The life of Amelia Earhart is incredibly interesting and undoubtedly filled with many obstacles, but the film’s characters seem static and there is not much conflict throughout the movie. In fact, everything seems to go perfectly for the aviatrix until her tragic last flight, which still does not display the action one would expect.

Earhar t is a legendar y woman and has been the inspiration for numerous other movies in her honor. Though the film features good acting and an accurate por trayal of the aviatrix, it seems to only provide a super ficial view into her hardships and tr uly remarkable accomplishments.

With a little bit more depth and vision into Amelia Earhart’s tragic voyage and other difficult aspects of her life, Amelia could have been a great movie. Unfortunately, because of the lack of conflict and intensity, it turned out just average.

Music

November 12, 2009

Inside Beat • Page 7

DEAD MAN’S BONES COURTESY OF CMT.COM

Carrie Underwood Play On | A

BY LAURA SILVERMAN STAFF WRITER

With her third album Play On, Carrie Under wood is proving again that she is going above and beyond the 15 minutes of fame allotted to American Idol alums. With this release, Under wood claims that she’s definitely going to be around for a while.

Her lead-off single, “Cowboy Casanova,” star ts of f in Underwood’s tradition of fun, energetic, sure-to-be-karaoke format.

She doesn’t stick to one stereotypical female singer song type either. The album is not all “woman scorned,” nor is it all “happily in-love,” as she finds a balance and leaves all her fans able to identify with many of the album’s tracks.

It’s refreshing to listen to an album from a country singer with pop success who still sticks to her roots. The banjo and pedal steel

Dashboard Confessional

guitar certainly help in the country feel, but it’s the singing itself that makes the album. Underwood’s powerful voice transcends musical boundaries as proven by every track.

Underwood has a country music “twang,” and the subject matter of her songs is as downhome as the music. They tell a story and have a past and present to them. Country or otherwise, the impressive vocals and the music that back them up really make this album. Play On should produce many hit singles.

MUSIC EDITOR

In the two years following the release of The Shade of Poison Trees, the creative direction of Chris Carrabba and his emo outlet Dashboard Confessional has been in much dispute. While the album was a return to the acoustic sound that made them famous back in 2002 on The Places You’ve Come to Fear the Most, many applauded the mainstream turn they took with 2006’s Dusk and Summer, which yielded some extensive radio play and their highest-charting release to date. So the core fan bases’ desire for them to con-

tinue in the tradition of their acoustic roots and the need to progress as a more palpable high profile band is brought to head with the duel acoustic and electric release of their newest release, Alter the Ending.

The outcome of the final product is one for dispute among the split fan base. While choosing between either version is purely a choice to the fan, both the electric and acoustic versions of certain songs on the album can split a fan on what album they prefer. The acoustic versions of tracks like “Ever ybody Learns from Disaster” and “Belle of the Boulevard” fit better in the Swiss Army Romance Dashboard than the band’s more recent releases. However, while the acoustic versions of the album’s tracks leave a nice feel to the more traditional Dashboard

Dead Man’s Bones | B

BY SUKANYA DUTTA STAFF WRITER

Dead Man’s Bones is the selftitled debut album of award-winning actor Ryan Gosling and his best friend Zach Shields. The album will initially attract listeners due to Gosling’s fame. Regardless of the band’s star power, people will still have a great time listening to this bizarre yet catchy record — perfect for this time of year.

The album has a ghostly focus (it was appropriately released around Halloween), with eerie song titles like “Werewolf Heart” and “Flowers Grow Out of My Grave.” Sung in Gosling’s mourning baritone and Shield’s sweet voice, the haunting lyrics of tracks like “Buried in Water” sound more

COURTESY OF CBSRECORDS-MEDIA.COM

Alter the Ending | B+

BY JASON STIVES

COURTESY OF LAST.FM

fans, the punch is more prominent in Carrabba’s soaring vocals and sorrowful lyrics on tracks like “Get Me Right” and “I Know About You,” which utilize rip-roaring guitar melodies and the steady back beat that has become the permanent brand of the Dashboard name.

Carrabba proves once again his blissfully bitter songwriting about love, desire and the scorn of a 30year-old man has an endearing factor to it, even after almost 10 years of being put into play. While the album has the potential to drive in a new audience or alienate the old one mainly for its polished and sleek mainstream appeal, Carrabba and company will always have an audience to sing about the girl that got away long after this album has reached the end of its radio rotation.

like a real ghost story than a song.

What emphasizes the shivery factor of the compilation is the accompanying Silverlake Conservatory of Music children’s choir, whose swooping, innocent howls are the most morbid bit of the record.

Besides singing, Gosling is DMB’s pianist and organist, while Shields is the drummer and supplies a flute solo on “My Body’s a Zombie for You.” Apart from these gloomy melodies, the exuberance Gosling and Shields display prevent the album from inevitably sounding like a funeral, and instead make it sound like an unforgettable trick-or-treating adventure.

Gosling and Shields, who disguise themselves as werewolves when performing, have no serious prior musical background.

This only adds to the unprocessed charm of this eccentric, yet endearing, band.

Page 8 • Inside Beat

November 12, 2009

Fashion

Style For Less

BY ERIN SWEENEY Rutgers loves to party. Thursday through Saturday, come 9 p.m., music blasts down the dorm hallways, while hordes of freshmen and sophomores get ready to go out and dance their butts off.

As a girl, I know that half the fun is getting dressed up with your girlfriends before leaving for the parties. However, some of us have the tendency to let the festive mood get the best of our judgment, so that we choose too-revealing outfits which forego comfort in favor of perceived sexiness. Get inspired by this season’s rockstar trend when putting together a Friday night look that’s both classy and alluring.

The easiest basis for a sultry nighttime outfit is an embellished mini dress. A pared-down structure keeps it casual while sparkles in the form of studs or sequins glam up your look. The shortness of the dress lets you feel unconstrained on the dance floor; just make sure to pair it with some leggings or opaque tights in order to avoid an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction. Alice and Olivia’s one-shouldered sequin dress in gold is a chic option, but it seriously threatens your wallet at $484. Forever 21 sells its own similar black version, which is much more affordable at $24.80. Plus, the dress in black is edgier and more demure than the gold one.

The next most essential component to a killer look is footwear.

I know you ladies love your heels, but you could stay out so much longer in more comfortable shoes! Consider biker boots — a

cooler and more comfortable alternative — that won’t leave you quite as achy as your other options. Additionally, the chunkiness of the boots will play down the girliness of the dress, toughening up your look and lending you a more laissez-faire attitude.

Frye’s Rogan Engineer boots are gorgeous in real leather but painful to pay for at $328. For something more budget-friendly (that you’ll also feel better beating up), check out the Moto Strap Boot by Deena and Ozzy at Urban Outfitters for $68. It’s not exactly pocket change, but they do have the bonus of extra hardware.

Finally, as we come into the colder months of November and December, you really need to invest in a jacket to keep warm on the way to parties. Since jackets are hard to keep track of while you’re out, and they usually sustain considerable wear and tear,, don’t sink too much money into this piece.

The ubiquitous leather jacket of this season is ideal, and there are plenty of faux versions that won’t break the bank. Alexander’s Leather Motorcycle Vest is a dream, but seriously, at $1,295, keep dreaming.

A more realistic choice is Forever 21’s Cropped Moto Jacket for $39.80. The leather jacket is another great accessor y that makes you look like you aren’t trying too hard.

Don’t forget some chain-heavy jewelry and a slash of red lipstick to complete the look, along with a cross-body bag to keep your phone and wallet close by at all times. Now you are ready for a Friday night party, dressed in fashion that wont break the bank.

Expensive

Reasonable

ALICE AND OLIVIA, $484

FOREVER 21, $24.80

FRYE’S ROGAN ENGINEER BOOTS, $328

MOTO STRAP BY DEENA AND OZZY, URBAN OUTFITTERS, $68

ALEXANDER’S LEATHER MOTO VEST, NET-A-PORTER.COM, $1,295

CROPPED MOTO JACKET, FOREVER 21, $39.80

STAFF WRITER

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