the current - april 18, 2013
DESCRIPTION
The April 18, 2013, issue of The Current, the weekly arts and entertainment supplement of The Daily Northwestern.TRANSCRIPT
THE CURRENT
PAJAMA PARTY
Among the plays featured in ! e Music ! eatre Company’s current season is its adap-tation of the award-winning musical, “! e Pajama Game.” In it, Frankie DiCiaccio (Communication ‘"#) and Kelley Abell (Communication ‘"#) play a swing (a male understudy to an ensemble of male characters) and the character of Poopsie, respectively.
! ese are among the $ rst roles the Northwestern alumni have acted in since graduating last year. Attached to the tre-mendous excitement of acting with a professional company is naturally some nervousness and fear.
“It’s kind of scary,” DiCiaccio said. “I’ve never done it before.”
Abell, who has "# years of dance experience, also noted the challenging choreography she has to learn for her character.
“(! e choreographer) really pushes our limits as actors and dancers, which is incredible,” Abell said.
! e choreographer for the show, Jessica Redish (Com-munication ‘%#) is also a friend of NU. Redish is the found-ing artistic director of ! e Music ! eatre Company in Chicago.
“I wanted to create a home for new musicals to & our-ish,” Redish said. “Now that the company has grown from then, a summer festival, to now, a year-round theater, we started doing bigger titles as well, but looking at them in a new way.”
! is production, which is directed by Jess McLeod, an NU graduate student studying directing, takes a speci$ c approach to this classic play.
“It’s usually a really big show, but our theater is really intimate, a smaller space,” DiCiaccio said. “You get to know the characters better and more intimately. Jess McLeod, the director, has done a really terri$ c job being speci$ c with all of the characters and who these people really are, so there is something really real
about it.”Abell expressed a similar sentiment about her role as Poop-
sie, one of four women working in the factory.“! e women who work in the factory are so important to
the telling of the story,” Abell said. “Jess (McLeod) makes us each such unique and strong women.”
As the choreographer, Redish tried to explore the play through the eyes of the factory workers in the harsh condi-tions of their working environment.
“We see this production sometimes, and we think it’s a very enjoyable place to work, so I want to make it clear through the choreography that it’s some place that’s very di' cult to work at,” Redish said.
! e musical, which is set in the "()%s, centers on a group of pajama factory workers who demand a *.)-cent raise. Although the setting is di+ erent from what a #%-year-old might face today, Abell said as a recent graduate, she can relate to her character’s struggles.
“It feels very close to home to be working on close to a minimum wage, where literally every cent does count,” Abell said. “Most of all, it’s feeling like you deserve to be compen-sated for all the work you have to do.”
Despite that, Abell still noted some important di+ erences between her character and herself.
“Poopsie really understands men, and that’s how she wields her power,” Abell said. “I’m not sure Kelley’s like that.”
Abell said she feels incredibly fortunate to be part of ! e Music ! eatre Company.
“! ere’s such a great sense of play in the room, and a commitment to exploration that I have really, really loved.
I felt so free to explore,” Abell said. “It’s really important to me because I keep telling friends of my graduating class that we have
so much time to make art that we promised ourselves we’d make in Willard at , a.m. drink-ing our Starbucks double shots.”
Abell said part of the reason why it
was so enjoyable to work with ! e Music ! eatre Company was the heavy presence of NU alumni: Matt Deitchman, the music director, and Carly Robinson, a female swing, are also graduates.
“It’s been really fun working with people who speak the same language,” Abell said. “! ey have the same priorities of creating meaningful art.”
DiCiaccio, who described the company as warm and inviting, also said he appreciates having friends from his graduating class.
Redish recalled only one other time when a musical was comprised of so many NU graduates. In #%"", ! e Music ! eatre Company featured the musical “Merrily We Roll Along,” in which six NU graduates participated.
“I really like working with Northwestern graduates,” Redish said. “! ere’s a common dialogue that we share, and I appreciate that.”
Redish said since graduating in #%%#, she has been back to see a few shows, making her familiar with some of the students’ work on campus and throughout the city. One of the students she recognized was Abell.
“I adore working with Kelley,” Redish said. “I’ve seen her perform at other theaters around town, and I admire her work. She’s very smart, and her approach is very intelligent. Frankie’s also delightful.”
In the end, both Abell and DiCiaccio said they value the experience NU has given them in preparing them for roles like theirs in “! e Pajama Game.”
“I’m so blessed to continue working with people I met at Northwestern,” Abell said. “In my mind, (NU) is the only
place to study theater, but that’s just me.”
[email protected]@jamesbien
INSIDE: Odds & Ends 2 | Columns 3 | Reviews 4
There’s no sleeping when post-grad life’s this fun. by james bien
! is production, which is directed by Jess McLeod, an NU ! is production, which is directed by Jess McLeod, an NU ! is production, which is directed by Jess McLeod, an NU ! is production, which is directed by Jess McLeod, an NU graduate student studying directing, takes a speci$ c approach graduate student studying directing, takes a speci$ c approach graduate student studying directing, takes a speci$ c approach graduate student studying directing, takes a speci$ c approach to this classic play.to this classic play.to this classic play.
“It’s usually a really big show, but our theater is “It’s usually a really big show, but our theater is “It’s usually a really big show, but our theater is “It’s usually a really big show, but our theater is really intimate, a smaller space,” DiCiaccio said. really intimate, a smaller space,” DiCiaccio said. really intimate, a smaller space,” DiCiaccio said. really intimate, a smaller space,” DiCiaccio said. “You get to know the characters better and more “You get to know the characters better and more “You get to know the characters better and more “You get to know the characters better and more intimately. Jess McLeod, the director, intimately. Jess McLeod, the director, intimately. Jess McLeod, the director, has has done a really terri$ c job being speci$ c with done a really terri$ c job being speci$ c with done a really terri$ c job being speci$ c with all of the characters and who these people all of the characters and who these people all of the characters and who these people really are, so there is something really real really are, so there is something really real really are, so there is something really real
Music ! eatre Company.Music ! eatre Company.“! ere’s such a great sense of play in the room, and a “! ere’s such a great sense of play in the room, and a “! ere’s such a great sense of play in the room, and a
commitment to exploration that I have really, really loved. commitment to exploration that I have really, really loved. commitment to exploration that I have really, really loved. I felt so free to explore,” Abell said. “It’s really I felt so free to explore,” Abell said. “It’s really I felt so free to explore,” Abell said. “It’s really
important to me because I keep telling important to me because I keep telling important to me because I keep telling friends of my graduating class that we have friends of my graduating class that we have friends of my graduating class that we have
so much time to make art that we promised so much time to make art that we promised so much time to make art that we promised ourselves we’d make in Willard at , a.m. drink-ourselves we’d make in Willard at , a.m. drink-ourselves we’d make in Willard at , a.m. drink-ing our Starbucks double shots.”ing our Starbucks double shots.”ing our Starbucks double shots.”
Abell said part of the reason why it Abell said part of the reason why it Abell said part of the reason why it
like theirs in “! e Pajama Game.”like theirs in “! e Pajama Game.”like theirs in “! e Pajama Game.”“I’m so blessed to continue working with people I met at “I’m so blessed to continue working with people I met at “I’m so blessed to continue working with people I met at “I’m so blessed to continue working with people I met at
Northwestern,” Abell said. “In my mind, (NU) is the only Northwestern,” Abell said. “In my mind, (NU) is the only Northwestern,” Abell said. “In my mind, (NU) is the only Northwestern,” Abell said. “In my mind, (NU) is the only place to study theater, but that’s place to study theater, but that’s place to study theater, but that’s
just me.”
[email protected]@[email protected]@jamesbien@jamesbien
! is week, Justin Bieber visited the Anne Frank House, a museum dedicated to
the life of the fearless Holocaust victim, whose diaries chronicle some of the most horri" c events of Nazi occu-pation. Bieber had the ridiculously awful (and highly o# ensive idea) of signing the following in the museum’s
guest book: “Truly inspiring to be able to come here. Anne was a great girl.
Hopefully she would have been a belie-ber.” Below, ! e Current and Daily sta# -ers, as well as some Northwestern students, chime in on the incident.
“Annex couldn’t fi t his ego.”
“Please, Anne Frank had standards.”
“Go back to Canada, please.”
“I don’t beliebe the audacity.”
“I give up on humanity.”
“Wait, what? Why? How? No.”
“I beliebe … JB’s an idiot.”
— Shelby ! ordarson
— Sam Freedman
— Yoni Muller
— Jen Reese
— Andrew Brugman
— Josh Wal" sh
— Laken Howard
Odds & EndsPage 2 | The Current Thursday, April 18, 2013
When “Breaking Bad” " rst aired, producer Vince Gilligan explained to Chemical & Engineering News that he relied on the Internet and Wikipedia to look up
scienti" c information for the show. Donna Nelson, a chemistry professor at the University of Oklahoma, saw Gilligan’s interview and was the only one who responded to Gilligan’s request for assistance. She soon became the science adviser for the hit AMC series. Nelson will speak Friday at Northwestern, but before her visit, she answered ! e Current’s questions.
THE CURRENT: How did you become involved with “Breaking Bad”?
DONNA NELSON: I already knew that the scien-ti" c community … and so many other people have been very concerned about the way scientists and science are portrayed on television and in the movies. ! ere’s this great e# ort to try to make the depiction more accurate. A lot of times we are portrayed as the evil scientist or the mad scientist or the bad scientist or the nerd scientist. I thought ... here is a producer (Vince Gilligan) who is really interested in getting the science right and the story right, and that’s exactly what we need. It would build a bridge between the scienti" c community and the entertainment community, and it would help the entertainment com-munity learn more about us. ! e next thing I knew, Vince
Gilligan contacted me and said, “Sure, we would
love for you to help out.”
THE CURRENT: Were you a fan of “Breaking Bad” before you joined their team?
DN: I had never watched it. ! e thing that motivated me was this was an opportunity to help a community. When I watched the show, I was initially put o# by the subject material. Inside our chemical community, all of that is taboo, and we would never do anything to encour-age students to do anything illegal. When I watched the show, I realized Vince Gilligan is portraying the main character, Walter White, in a way such that no student is going to watch that and then think, yeah, that’s the lifestyle I want. I felt comfortable with it at that point and I was happy to help them.
THE CURRENT: What’s your favorite part about advising for the show?
DN: I’ve learned so much about the entertainment industry. One thing that I think was very important, and critical to having a good relationship with the entertain-ment industry if you’re a scientist, is you have to have a respect for the art that they do. I respected them and they respected me. When I would do things like review pages from their script, I would look at it and I would remember those writers had written the words that they thought would have the optimal impact on the audience. ! e goal was to have a popular show. It was not a science feature
show. It was a popular show that used science. When I read the script, I kept that in mind and I would change as few words as possible from their script just to get the science correct.
THE CURRENT: Why do you think it’s important to include science advisers on TV shows?
DN: It’s really important whenever you have a televi-sion show or a movie, you have to have a suspension of belief. ! ey’re watching along and then there’s this huge faux pas committed, that suspension of belief is broken. ! e producers really do want to get the material presented on television or in the movies just as correct as possible, so that viewers will ... stay immersed in the show from begin-ning to end. I think it’s important to scientists, because to us when we hear something not factual presented, it’s like " ngernails on a blackboard.
THE CURRENT: Do you have any advice for students who want to pursue chemistry in the future?
DN: I’ve certainly enjoyed it, and being a professor, I’ve really enjoyed the autonomy. I’ve had the freedom to select projects and accept o# ers like this, and when you have that sort of freedom and you can do things like this, it really makes life fun.
[email protected]@anniefb13
Two things annoy me: being expected to read almost $%% pages for each history class, and when my Facebook news feed is " lled with reposted images.
I value originality or at least the e# ort to take that interest-ing quote and put it in a status with some context or reason why you posted it. I’d rather see a photo of my Facebook friend or a picture they took than another shared image from “A relationship is not a test so why cheat?” (! at’s an actual page that appeared on my news feed.) Although if you share a Pinterest photo linking to some delicious-looking food, I’ll probably click on that. What especially bothers me are the photos urging people to like and share to end cancer or feed a starving child in Africa. ! is is a lie. It’s like a chain letter. No one actually bene" ts from those likes and shares. ! ey just raise awareness.
! is barrage of unoriginal posts is why when my news feed began to contain comics from the Facebook application Bitstrips, I was so pleased and began deliberately looking to see if more friends had posted from the app.
Bitstrips is a website and app that allows users to create a pretty accurate cartoon version of themselves. ! ey can then place their cartoon selves in comics and cartoon images that
can also include other friends who use the app.Scenes are pre-made, so it doesn’t require much e# ort other
than choosing a scene. ! e real creativity and bene" t comes in the opportunity to be witty, choose speci" c scenes and come up with captions and quotes.
Bitstrips can also be used to depict events. ! e best Bitstrip I have seen so far showed someone hiding in a trashcan to spy on her crush.
! at’s the beauty of Bitstrips. People can use them to update their statuses and share what they’re doing with a cartoon ver-sion of themselves rather than a poor-quality photo. Friends can be included, and, rather than just a status telling some-thing that happened in my day or an interesting thought I had, I can visually depict it with a comic.
Bitstrips are outlets to demonstrate wit, be humorous and stand out among other Facebook posts. I love using them to share things I’m thinking about in a way that isn’t a status, and I’d rather have them dominate my Facebook news feed than reposts.
[email protected]@musovogr
Q&A with
Dr. Donlson
She’s not a mad scientist or nerd. She’s the science adviser for “Breaking Bad.”
This week
we’re obsessed with...
BITSTRIPS
CHELSEA SHERLOCK
Five words for...
JUSTINBIEBER
COMPILED BY
ELIZABETH FREDA
Source: Creative Commons
Chelsea Sherlock/The Daily Northwestern
Columns The Current | Page 3Thursday, April 18, 2013
What’s one of the most obvi-ous advantages of online dat-ing? You have the chance to tell people all the wonderful things about you before they even meet you. You can put your best (virtual) foot forward and
create a pro! le that will show o" how unique and beautiful you are.
In this week’s column, I want to share with you the do’s and don’ts of making your
online dating pro! le the best it can be and help you avoid unwittingly scaring o" your potential soulmate.
# e most important thing to remember when creating a pro! le is to be honest. If you’re genuine and display your true interests and intentions, it will greatly increase your chances of ! nding a date you’ll really hit it o" with instead of, say, mistakenly attracting a balloon fetishist.
I’m aware that not everyone uses sites like OkCupid to ! nd a girlfriend or boyfriend. If you are indeed looking only for a hookup, mention that on your pro! le in the nicest way possible, i.e., “At this point in my life, I’m more interested in a casual,
short-term relationship.” # is way, no one will be misled or have unrealistic expecta-
tions if things do progress to the meeting o$ ine stage.Equally important, you should always ! nd engaging ways to
list your interests. Although you may not want to reveal some more personal information such as your religious or political views, you should also keep in mind you’ll ! nd someone more similar to yourself if those important things are out in the open. # e tricky part is to not say too much. If you ramble on about every last band you love, once you go on a date with someone, there may be little le% to the imagination and conversation could run dry.
If you can, try to do something totally di" erent with your pro! le, like one of my friends did. She ! lled out each section of her pro! le as the game “Two Truths and a Lie” and invited guys to message her to see if they could guess correctly which things she mentioned were true. It makes her pro! le fun while still revealing interesting facts about her. Most importantly, it makes her easy to message, so she probably receives fewer “Hey sexy, wanna hook up l&r?” messages at ' a.m.
# e bottom line? It’s your pro! le, and whatever impression you want to give people is up to you. Don’t be shady, though: Always upload honest pictures of yourself and be clear about what you want from the site. Remember: Have fun and stay safe! Happy dating!
Last week, we discussed the significance of two NBA players bringing back the hi-top fade. Well,
consider that the introductory course to Ballers and Tiaras. # is week, we’re jump-ing right into the center of the NBA fashion world with one of its most polarizing ! gures, Oklahoma City # under guard Russell Westbrook.
Before we get started, Coral Glades High gradu-ate and professional life saver Steven Berger (aka ! re! ghter and paramedic student) deserves some credit for the idea of this column. When told # e Current would be wading into the vast waters of NBA fashion, Berger immediately suggested that no NBA fashion column worth a lick could avoid the topic of Westbrook.
Westbrook attended the University of Califor-nia, Los Angeles, so one would assume that during his time in trendy SoCal he would pick up some hot fashion tips. Instead, the mercurial point guard wears out! ts like a white shirt adorned with ! shing lures topped with lensless red glasses, leopard-print pants under a brown coat and short tie or a silvery, leathery vest over a gray shirt and too-tight turquoise pants.
So what’s my working theory here?Westbrook’s poor fashion choices don’t come from insecurity
or a need for attention. Instead, I’m sensing Westbrook’s fashion choices further help him embrace his bad boy image with
opposing fans.Listen, in reality, does Westbrook push the line further
than his contemporaries? Probably not. Again, LeBron James wore leather sweat shorts recently. What does that even mean?
Westbrook’s issue resides in his public perception. # e point guard plays in the shadow of arguably the second-greatest bas-ketball player in the world, Kevin Durant. # e media only seem to cover Westbrook when it can criticize him for not deferring enough to Durant.
# e two alpha-dogs sometimes even boil over on the court, and on multiple occasions Durant and Westbrook argued on the
sidelines of a close game.At this point, Westbrook seems to have adopted his villainous personality with those outside of the team’s
fan base. He even took it to the level of denying Denver fans free queso by blocking a halfcourt shot attempt by the Nuggets’ mascot.
Westbrook did not always dress this way. A% er a lengthy Google image research process, the results showed Westbrook began his career dressing conservative yet classy. But as soon as
the country began criticizing his on-court deci-sions (pass it to Durant, stop shooting, don’t deny
anyone in the history of America free queso ever), Westbrook’s fashion decisions started to yell back at
your face.Now, when people criticize Westbrook for looking like a color-
blind Steve Urkel during press conferences, he can shrug o" the naysayers and infuriate his haters even more.
But when Westbrook can do things like score the most points in an NBA Finals game since Dwyane Wade in ())* or throw down a one-handed tomahawk dunk over a +-footer, he probably doesn’t have to care what those haters think.
Small plates seem to be all the rage these days. Modeled a% er the Spanish tapas, restaurants have begun serving up taste portions of internationally inspired dishes rather than traditional, one-plate entrees. # e idea is to go in and taste a variety of foods.
Found, ,*', Chicago Ave., was just named one of the best new restaurants by Chicago maga-zine. It too is a small-plate restaurant. You can get a plate of fried oyster tacos with bacon and tomatillo, and pair that with a selection of three to ! ve cheeses.
Other small-plate restaurants in Evanston include # e Cellar, &() Clark St., and # e Stained Glass, ,+'- Benson Ave. Unfortunately, although these tapas-style places are delicious, they are also expensive. As most of us know, college students are poor. So how do you get a delicious dinner without emptying the wallet?
First and most
impor-tantly,
small plates, as strange as it
sounds, are sup-posed to be shared.
Sure, you could most likely ! nish a salad and some oyster tacos by yourself, but then you might still be hungry and your bill is already at .(). Two people, or three, means the more new foods you can try, the fuller stomachs and smaller bills with which you’re le% . For example, a delicious deal my boyfriend and I shared at # e Cellar consisted of smoked salmon / atbread, small Caesar salad, lobster mac and cheese and bacon-wrapped dates. Total per person? .,*.,-. My boy-friend and I eat a lot, and we were both full.
Secondly, order filling
foods. Yes, the tempura vegetables are delicious, but if you are on a tight budget, it might be better to order something with a little more protein, like shrimp and grits. # e more ! lling the plates are, the less you have to order and consequently, the less you have to spend. Why drop .'.+- on French fries when you can order a micro burger for about the same price?
# ird, avoid ordering wine and beer. Yes, the beverage lists at these places are extensive. No doubt they o" er quality alcohol, but alcohol, par-ticularly good alcohol, is expensive. You’re better
o" skipping the .* glass of wine and spending those .* on some delicious food.
College students are on a tight budget, but that doesn’t mean they can’t have a nice meal from time to time. # ose nice meals also don’t have to cost a whole day or two’s pay. You just have to know how to order right. Next time you have a date or want to go out with some friends or just try some new, high-end food, don’t be afraid to drop by # e Cellar, # e Stained Glass or Found.
column
DIGITAL GET DOWN
Source: Creative Commons
STYLE VIOLATION Early in his career, Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook dressed nowhere as outlandishly as he does now. Westbrook’s style on and off the court (think lensless glasses and fi shing-lure shirts) may draw criticism, but with his playing, he doesn’t have to worry what his detractors say.
ASSISTANT EDITORAnnie Bruce
DESIGN EDITORJen White
ASSISTANT DESIGN EDITORMaria Fernandez-Davila
WRITERSJames BienAlex BurnhamSammy CaiolaBlair Dunbar
THE CURRENTEDITOR IN CHIEFChelsea Peng
Elizabeth FredaLaken HowardRohan NadkarniChelsea SherlockCelia Skaggs
column
BLAIR A LA
CARTE
columnBALLERS AND TIARAS
Fashion Foul
ROHANNADKARNINBA FASHION COLUMNIST@ROHAN_NU
LAKEN HOWARDDATING COLUMNIST@LAKENISAHORCRUX
“If you’re genuine
and display your true interests and intentions, it will greatly increase your chances of ! nding a date you’ll really hit it o" with instead of, say, mistakenly attracting a balloon fetishist.
BLAIR DUNBARFOOD COLUMNIST
If you’re anything like me, your late child-hood years were !lled with some pretty incred-ible Pixar movies that shaped the way you’ve viewed animated !lms for the rest of your life. So when I was contacted to be a part of a con-ference call with the director and producer of the next “Monsters, Inc.” installment, you can imagine my excitement.
“Monsters, Inc.” was a hysterical and meaningful "ick I watched several times as a kid. Mike and Sulley, the two main characters, have a friendship for the books and were de!nitely a fan favorite, with “Boo” as their fearless child companion. I couldn’t wait to see what the next chap-ter would include.
“Monsters University” takes viewers back to the place where Mike and Sulley !rst met. College seemed like the ideal setting and an “opportunity for fun, monster antics,” direc-tor Dan Scanlon said.
Luckily for the viewers, Mike and Sulley will still be the charismatic monsters audiences are anxiously awaiting to see. “We wanted the characters to be somewhat familiar,” Scanlon said. “If we went back too far and did Monsters Elementary, we felt it wouldn’t be the Mike and Sulley we know and love.”
Producer Kori Rae has quite the track record at Pixar and was a crucial member of produc-tion for several movies people of all generations fell in love with, including “Up” and “Toy Story #,” to name a few.
Rae said she really connected to the college setting, a time when teenagers (and monsters)
can !gure out who they are and who they want to be. She described “Monsters University” as a movie of “self-discovery and friendship.”
Both Rae and Scanlon emphasized the already existing adoration for characters that will appear in “Monsters University.” All the voice cast members from “Monsters, Inc.” were more than excited to get back into their roles, having “to !nd a new take on the characters that was still familiar but was a little younger,” Scanlon said.
However, the !lm was not without its chal-lenges. Aging the characters while still main-taining their familiarity to audiences was a
he$y task and took a lot of creativ-ity on the part of the animation
team. By thinning them up and brightening their colors, the “Monsters” team reimag-ined Mike and Sulley in their younger years before the stereotypical college weight gain.
When asked what they most wanted audience mem-
bers to take away from “Mon-sters University,” both Scanlon
and Rae agreed they wanted the !lm to touch people emotionally.“%is !lm is very much about what happens
when you come up to a closed door and how you get around that,” Scanlon said.
Personally, what I’m most looking forward to is the opportunity to experience the characters I love in brand-new environments, interacting with the typical college student archetype. I can’t wait to see Mike and Sulley in their awk-ward teenage years, navigating their wild !rst year at college just as I did.
I know I’m among many people young and old who will be beyond excited come June #& when “Monsters University” hits theaters.
ReviewsPage 4 | The Current Thursday, April 18, 2013
movie
MONSTERSUNIVERSITY
Intermittent delays plagued Kid Cudi’s third studio album, “Indicud.” Scott Mes-cudi mentioned the title of his '(-minute, ))-second installment during last summer. However, he put o* its release from October #(&# to early #(&+ and then eventually until April #+. “Indicud” leaked on the Internet last week, forcing the artist to release it a week early.
%e &,-song compilation delivers exactly what Mescudi, who goes by Kid Cudi, prom-ised: his version of Dr. Dre’s “%e Chronic #((&.” His experimental, avant-garde produc-tion, which features King Chip, Too -hort, Kendrick Lamar and A-AP Rocky, advances the limits of hip-hop and delves into an exotic end of the musical spectrum.
For starters, the singles on “Indicud” demonstrated his unique approach before the album was released. “Just What I Am” begins with robust bass kicks and "uttering cymbal crashes, which evolve into a sonically distorted Mescudi exhaling the lyrics “I need to smoke.” His words echo and coalesce.
“Girls,” another single, expands and con-tracts to the pulsing of synthesizers and war-bling bass tones. Music practically breathes as Mescudi describes his associations with women. “I see pretty girls everywhere I go,” he repeats during the chorus. %e layering of separate electronic sounds gives the song acoustic depth and an airy temperament.
%is quality persists throughout the album as an underlying theme that relates lyrically di*erent tracks. A sanguine disposition hops from song to song against a popping of vig-orous bass.
And, in typical Cudder fashion, a few parts of the album contain references to marijuana and the alienation of Mescudi from society. %e “Moon Man” — also known as “Mr. Solo Dolo,” — describes therapy, isolation and a general lack of hope. But he also details the fortitude to continue living a$er a bitter cus-tody battle.
Yet, any more self-deprecation for Mescudi would be trite, prosaic to the point of regur-gitation. “Indicud” alludes to low points but encapsulates the artist’s motivation to live under the in"uence of happiness.
“I just tell ‘em I’m an oxymoron when I open my mouth,” he raps on the psychedelic “Solo Dolo Part II.” Reminiscent of Scooby-Doo and carnival music, plus %e Doors, the track features Kendrick Lamar. It also samples “Going the Distance” by the Mena-han Street Band.
Musical invention de!nes the album in this way. %e nine-minute penultimate track “A$erwards (Bring Yo Friends)” begins like “New York City Rage Fest.” Forceful bass smacks and pounds; it threatens to break the speakers. %en, above the beat, a phase-shi$ing organ pumps melody into the mix-ture. Various phrases emanate from the aural depths and repeat, given that the song lacks narrative lyrics.
“A$erwards” transitions into “%e Flight of the Moon Man,” a short, spacious !nale. Natural, atmospheric noises blend with xylo-phone sounds into a cacophony, which in turn becomes the industrial pattern of grind-ing, mechanical bass.
Ultimately, “Indicud,” the vaporous, e*er-vescent collection of plangent tracks, sparks through musical synapse. Profundity inte-grates with simplicity, a sublime journey from song to song.
No better way to spend a Sunday a$er-noon than with family counseling, huh?
Head over to the Storefront %eater for LiveWire Chicago’s production of “A Per-manent Image” and the cast will try, with little success, to convince you as such.
%is lackluster drama about familial ten-sion and the futility of life le$ me pensive but dissatis!ed, my mind grasping for the answer to the age-old question: “What was that?”
%e show revolves around an Idaho mother Carol, portrayed by Janice O’Neill, whose husband recently committed suicide. %e two lived a lonely existence a$er their children, Ally and Bo, moved out of the house and never looked back. Over their years of mundane small-town isolation, Carol and her husband did a good deal of research on the Big Bang theory, which ultimately convinced them of their relative insigni!cance compared to the grander universe. Martin, Carol’s husband, takes his own life using drugs he steals from his job as a hospital custodian. He dies expecting Carol to follow suit, but she refuses to do so without both of her children present.
%e two kids — Ally, a small business owner, and Bo, a war photographer — arrive home a$er a decade of absence to !nd the entire house painted white, including the picture frames and magazines. Taking the bizarre transformation as evidence of their mother’s waxing insanity, the two spend the duration of the show analyzing the glitches in their personal psyches and pointing !n-gers in an attempt to pin down which bad seed brought their family to shambles.
If you haven’t caught onto this yet, “A Per-manent Image” has too much going on with almost nothing coming through. Under the cliched umbrella of “dysfunctional family,” Samuel D. Hunter’s script paws at themes of alcoholism, verbal abuse, emotional neglect and invasion of privacy without actually tackling any of these issues. %e two siblings obviously feel cheated by their childhood but never explicitly say what went wrong. Rather than initiating an honest adult con-versation about their parents’ shortcomings, they spend the time home !ghting over their petty political di*erences and acting astounded that they can’t properly grieve for their father. %eir living-room wrestling match, which is the only part of the show that resembles a climax, acts as a hal.earted resolution for a slew of problems that have obviously carried into their adult lives.
Mostly, it’s a few people sitting around a white room, drinking and contemplat-ing whether or not their lives are worth liv-ing. %at, plus the political bickering about human apathy and the redundant dialogue about family obligation, makes for a men-tally tiresome and emotionally numbing two hours and &/ minutes.
For what the script was, it was well exe-cuted. %ere were a few convincing mono-logues from each character, and even some striking interplay between the two siblings. O’Neill’s in"ection and gestures were spot-on for the pathetic persona she was trying to capture. But despite their performances, the actors were di0cult to relate to. All in all, my problem is with the script, not the actors. It’s a good show if you’re intrigued by middle-class white people talking about their prob-lems. But otherwise, I’d give it a C.
Source: Creative Commons
SCHOOL OF MONSTROSITIES “Monsters University,” the prequel to the story of “Monsters, Inc.” arrives in theaters June 21. Crowd-pleasing monsters Mike and Sully star, as well as many unique and hysterical new monsters audiences are sure to fall in love with.
SCARED SULLY
in June #(&#, Miley Cyrus and Liam
Hemsworth have yet to set a wed-ding date. Father Billy Ray Cyrus was cautious to avoid mention-ing the engage-
ment in his memoir “Hillbilly Hearth.” In
a recent interview, he admitted he intentionally le$
things vague because he doesn’t know if the young couple will end up marrying. Miley has extra incen-tive to get married now to continue her “rebellious” phase and show up her dad. Kids these days.
audience. %e Las Vegas show will feature “Beverly Hills, 1(#&(” star Ian Ziering as a guest headliner for four weeks in June. %e )1-year-old actor calls the job a “dream come true,” and he already has some experience a$er doing “Dancing with the Stars.” I’m just waiting for ABC to start a late-night version of the show focusing on Chippendales, featuring the D-listers who are ready to move on to their next dancing gig.
a Kanye than one might think. At the MTV Movie Awards, she attempted to grab Will Ferrell’s Come-dic Genius award from him during his acceptance speech. Plaza, who appeared visibly intoxicated, had the name of her new movie written on her chest when she took the stage. Ferrell, proving he deserved to win the Comedic award, deadpanned, “Just like we rehearsed it.” In the end, viewers were just plain confused. At least Kanye’s interruption had a point.
claiming a “Friends” reunion would !nally happen, Marta Kau*man, one of the show’s creators, shot
down the reports. %e rumor mill said there would be an entirely new season of the show, but Kau*man told reporters there would never be a new season or a movie reunion, leaving viewers slightly relieved and a little heart-broken all at once.
-ers she never “felt beautiful.” Despite this claim, Anderson has a pretty good explanation for why photographers might want to change her image. “I don’t know if it’s because I’m so hot, but they de!nitely try to tone down my sex appeal,” Ander-son said. Don’t try the false modesty act with us, Pamela.
ELIZABETH FREDAMOVIE REVIEWER@EFREDAMEDILL
SAMMY CAIOLATHEATER REVIEWER
ALEX BURNHAMMUSIC REVIEWER
music
INDICUDtheater
A PERMANENT IMAGE
the lives of the
rich and famous
RUNDOWNANNIE BRUCE