SaUy ®ar Mrrl
‘Truth’ offers some spunk, little life
BY KEMP BALDWIN
STAFF WRITER
On Some Truth & A Little
Money, The Bloody Lovelies spit
out 14 moderately infectious
songs.
And that’s what you’re supposed
to do when flying the power pop
banner —a genre defined by
stolen Beatles melodies and chord
progressions with a little ’7os
arena rock for muscle.
But power pop is dangerous
ground for any band to stand on
firmly. If the group doesn’t fill its
derivative compositions with orig
inal emotion or production,
redundancy goes on a rampage.
There’s a valiant effort here, no
doubt. The band trots through a
number of catchy tunes without
sounding like your eighth grade
cover band. But everything begins
CARTOONS
FROM PAGE 5
plots full of jump-cutting and sto
ries that veer all over the place at
speeds impossible to achieve in
live action shows.
“There’s very little program
ming that speaks to that sensibili
ty currently available,” Babcock
said. “(Cartoons) move at Internet
speed.”
To avoid inadvertently attract
ing underage audiences to the late
night block, Cartoon Network uses
grassroots advertising, including a
visit March 25 to Pantana Bob’s in
Chapel Hill. Babcock said that
most advertising relies on word
of-mouth.
The growth of “Adult Swim”
also will breathe new life into
“Family Guy,” a show that was can
celed by the FOX Network after
only three seasons. New episodes
of the quirky program with the
diabolical baby are being created
for Cartoon Network.
Like cartoons, the realm of
comic books also has seen a dra
matic shift in its focus, sharply
separating from the pearly white
superheros of the 1930s to 19605.
UNC junior Michael Audish, an
English major, has been reading
comics for more than 10 years and
cites the gritty “Preacher” as one of
his favorites.
“‘Preacher’ explores the idea of
why God would create such an
imperfect world,” Audish said. “The
story focuses on a priest who has
lost his faith and is looking for God
on earth to make him answer.”
Matt Dale, assistant manager
of Second Foundation Bookstore
on Rosemary Street, said he has
been reading comics all his life and
has noticed changing trends.
“I would say that there has been
a definite shift towards realism in
comics,” Dale said. “Superheroes,
the prime fodder for comics, have
been treated in a more contempo
rary manner.”
Dale lists “Hellboy” and “X-
Statix” as comics that embody
modern themes and symbolize
only a small portion of adult
comics that are available.
Marvel’s “X-Statix,” in particular,
parodies the world of mutants and
addresses controversial subjects
such as homosexuality, something
unheard of in past decades.
“There’s more diversity and
variety in comics today than any
other time,” Dale said. “It’s impor
tant to stress that the medium is so
rich and vast in subject matter.”
The emergence of the Japanese
comic form Manga also has helped
draw audiences. Manga tradition
ally has less censorship enforced on
it from its native country.
U.S. comics have evolved as
well, but along a rockier path.
Before the 1980s, comics were
expected to adhere to a set of writ
ten rules established in the ’sos by
The Comics Code Authority, which
forbade nudity, obscenity, gore and
sexuality and stated that good
always should triumph over evil.
The creative crush that resulted
damaged the image of comics and
limited the ability of comic artists
to create fresh, original works.
But in 1986, artist Frank Miller
created “The Dark Knight
Returns,” a comic considered by
many to have revived comics, cat
apulting them into what is widely
known as the grim and gritty age.
The tale, which placed an aging
Batman in a dark and sinister
world, contained graphic violence
that shattered the Comics Code.
Publishers have been selective
in their adherence to the Comics
Code ever since.
“Comics have moved away from
the stereotypical superhero for
mulas and are starting to tackle
issues that aren’t addressed much,
Audish said.“lt’s like a whole new
realm of expression.”
They’ve gone from politically
correct to pop culture, Cracker
Jack to cutting-edge. Cartoons and
comics have shed a passive, one
dimensional image and are com
ing into their own as sharp art
forms appreciated by adults.
Contact the A&E Editor
at artsdesk@mc.edu.
MUSICREVIEW
THE BLOODY LOVELIES
SOME TRUTH & A LITTLE
MONEY
i kirk
to falter with the vocals.
For a few minutes during the
first cut, “Hologram,” Randy
Wooten’s vocals bear a striking
resemblance to David Bowie, circa
Ziggy Stardust
This incites early excitement.
But then Wooten and crew walk
all over The Beatles’ Rubber Soulon
“You Don’t Love Me.” Devoid of har
monies, the key ingredient for suc
cessful pop, Wooten tries to fill in
the chorus with a gritty swagger.
By the end of the song, Wooten’s
nasal crooning, coupled with this
soulless Fab Four reenactment,
makes the Lovelies sound like a
seamy lounge act fronted by the
Partridge Family’s David Cassidy.
Vocal disparity plagues this
album. Wooten’s voice fluctuates
between good and crap so often
that songs which start out stellar
grow tiresome 30 seconds later.
Wooten is better at writing
melody lines than choruses, and
this leaves the songs sounding like
THE Daily Crossword By Eugene R. Puffenberger
67 Distinct stage
68 Wise lawgiver
69 Rent-sign abbr.
70 Stitched up
71 Delivered a low blow?
DOWN
1 "All Things
Considered" stn.
2 Metric square measure
3 Crab
4 Diarist Nin
5 Horne or ,Olin
6 Feudal tenant
7 Sticks
8 Commit perjury
9 Marine shocker
10 Act peeved
11 Spin around
12 Sweet herb
13 Hearth debris
19 Memo acronym
21 "Rosemary's Baby"
writer Levin
ACROSS
1 Twangy
6 Dips in the landscape
11 Pugilists'grp.
14 Dried fruit
15 French farewell
16 Possesses
17 Aired again
18 Crab
20 Intercede
22 eleison (Lord, have
mercy)
23 Tan and Irving
25 More uncommon
28 Ailments
29 French possessive
pronoun
30 Type of overcoat
32 Coagulates
34 Daybreaks
39 Side by side
42 Dancer Duncan
43 Kneecaps
45 Grieve
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46 Marceau and
Duchamp
49 Checkers side
50 Stow cargo
54 Slightly daffy
55 Small amounts
56 Botanical
swelling
58 Snow-covered
peak
60 Crab
63 Brightest star
designation
66 Velvet end?
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Diversions
Ijn ‘ -
they were constructed piecemeal,
not leaving any room for them to
exude an essence.
It’s sad the album has poten
tial but is so hit-or-miss that the
unexpected closing blast of five
quality songs is almost wasted.
The Lovelies could have benefit
ed from a little sifting and shifting.
If the soft piano-driven “Rosarita”
and “A Million Years From Now”
sat at the beginning, Some Truth &
A Little Money could have avoided
mediocre labeling.
If you want substantive power
pop, turn to a group like Sloan, but
The Bloody Lovelies will do for sit
uational wallpaper.
Contact the AdE Editor
at artsdesk@unc.edu.
23 Songwriters' org.
24 Thin toast
26 Pin box
27 Moody and Wood
30 Hymn of praise
31 Mine cars
33 Driving area
35 Bridal vow
36 Crab
37 Went wrong
38 " of Iwo Jima"
40 Weighty block
41 Scarlett's place
44 Overshadow
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29
32 33 ~ 35 36 37 38
39 " 40 4^
43 ‘ ‘ ‘ 4^
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50 51 52
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60 “ 61 62 "”■■■63” 64 65
66 W 67 ÜBsS
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Frusciante red hot rehash
Guitarist cant stop Peppers influence
BY TANNERSLAYDEN
STAFF WRITER
Eric Clapton left his position as
The Yardbirds’ lead guitar player
to pursue a historic solo career,
which overshadowed his already
impressive musical past.
Now, in “ Shadows Collide with
People”, John Frusciante shows
that though he can make innova
tive music without his bandmates,
it won’t be the brightest spot on his
resume.
Stationed as the lead guitar
player for the Red Hot Chili
Peppers, this poetic musician
makes an LP that wants to branch
out from his funk roots but still
keeps the sound he is known for.
He just does it better with the
other members.
There are two things the listen
er can count on in “ Shadows
Collide with People .”
Every song with a number or
the letter “R” in the title will have
weird, ear-bleeding noises. And
every song sounds like a subpar
Chili Peppers track.
That’s right. Take your least
(C)2004 Tribune Media Services, Inc.
All rights reserved.
47 Acted as toastmaster
48 Caustic solution
50 French painter
Fernand
51 To the point: Lat.
52 James and Dizzy
53 German river
55 Claw
57 Poisonous snakes
59 Wine container
61 Common article
62 Nautical swerve
64 Soil turner
65 Plus
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THURSDAY, MARCH 18, 2004
favorite song by the quartet and
imagine having it on a record 18
times.
The track “Carvel” sounds like a
Chili Peppers recording if Flea
wasn’t playing and there was a
freaky sounding computer part.
The only unique aspect of the
album comes in the form of com
puter and synthesized noises,
which are littered throughout and
sometimes make the listener think
the CD is skipping.
“OOGhost27” sounds like an
overproduced orchestration that
would be at home on “The Matrix”
soundtrack. The cut is a good rep
resentation of the songs that could
cause severe damage to someone’s
hearing.
The high-pitched computerized
noises, hearing loss aside, are help
ful for dog owners, though.
On “Shadows Collide with
People ,” the shadows collide way
longer than they need to.
There are about 11 solid, capti
vating tracks here, but the album
has 18, at some places, mind
numbing compositions.
This is where the irritating Dell-
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THURSDAY, MARCH 18 th
# # 11 AM til 7 PM
Julian's celebrates Bill's Khakis!
The gang from Bill's, straight from Pennsylvania,
is with us in the store today!
They are bringing all the kinds of khakis they make,
in every style and color, for Spring, Summer A Fall,
to add to our own hand-picked offerings.
Help us show them a real Carolina-khakis-kinda-day!
SFulian’s
Downtown Chapel Hill
140 East Franklin Street
942-4563
‘From Mississippi
to Manhattan:
A Reporter’s Journey’
HHSE jBHB
Randall Pinkston
CBS News correspondent
5 p.m. Monday, March 22
Carroll Hall Auditorium
Free and open to the public.
Part of the Nelson Benton Lecture Series.
For details, visit www.jomc.unc.edu.
tUNC
SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM
AND MASS COMMUNICATION
MOSICRIVIEW
JOHN FRUSCIANTE
SHADOWS COLLIDE WITH
PEOPLE
★★★
produced noises become helpful
people need something to keep
their attention.
Although Frusciante’s fourth solo
effort isn’t a breakthrough project,
the album does grow on the poten
tially ear-damaged listener.
“Song to Sing When I’m Lonely”
has a sing-song quality that com
bines a Fisher Price keyboard and
his signature melodic sound.
Other quirky tracks, such as
“Omission” and even the synthe
sized instrumental track “23 Go
into End,” show that his sound can
branch away from the Chili
Peppers sound.
Chad Smith plays percussion on
the album, so if it sounds like
“ Califomication,” that’s under
standable.
Chili Pepper fans will find
Frusciante’s solo project agreeable,
just not as hot as the real thing.
Contact theA&E Editor
at artsdesk@unc.edu.
9