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s>l|p Satfy ®ar MM NICK PARKER YOU'LL GET CAUGHT UP IN IT T.V. news drops ball with poor coverage It’s no big secret Tbcker Carlson is a dick. The right wing co-host of “Crossfire” screams when his points aren’t strong enough to stand on their own, treats educated liberals like a gang of roving idiots and bla tantly ignores the basic failings of President Bush’s administration. Plus, he expects America to take him seriously even though he sports a bow tie. No one ever respected Pee Wee Herman’s politi cal views the same should hold true for Carlson. But when Jon Stewart, host of the Emmy award-winning “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart,” called Carlson a dick on Friday during an appearance on “Crossfire,” he wasn’t criticizing Carlson’s political leaning. He was pointing out a much graver problem in “Crossfire,” CNN and broadcast media at large: They’re failing in their sacred democratic duty to protect the American public. Instead of providing a context for the news, acting as a watchdog over the government or putting politicians’ feet to the fire, the media are lobbing up softballs. It all plays right into the political game. Shows like “Crossfire” could address serious, contentious and important issues, but they don’t. They throw hot-headed pundits what Stewart called “hacks” in front of the camera for what boils down to a partisan dogfight. The end result is more of a mouthpiece for the politicians than a forum for criticism, debate or gasp! the truth. And the American public is the victim. We lose expert analysis, hard-hitting news and pertinent information. But despite what Stone Phillips’ apocalyptic proph esies would have you believe, we aren’t helpless. The New York Times gives us hope; The Washington Post is our savior; Newsweek brings sweet salvation. When broadcast news organizations rush blindly through complex issues, the print media are there to pick up the pieces and make some sense of the mess. News analysis and op-ed pieces whether investigating the crucial arguments during a presidential debate or highlighting some con nection between pop culture and politics (ahem) provide an infi nitely greater context for the infor mation they contain. Broadcast media have their place. There’s no quicker or cleaner way to cover breaking news. Just look at the scandal in Florida dur ing the 2000 presidential election. But to frame and fully explore the intricacies of an issue, there’s no substitute for the written word. No matter how many talking heads CNN fits on the screen, it can't compete with the competence, cohesion, completeness and clarity of a strong print article. If you really want to know what’s going on and what it really means, you have to read. Find the writers with whom you agree. Read what they on the other side of the fence. Read all of it and any of it. The point is to read —a lot. Ferrell Guillory, one of my pro fessors and probably the smartest guy I know (honestly, this is in no way brown nosing nothing I could say could salvage my grade), was working out on a treadmill at his fitness club last week. He was watching several news casts on a group of televisions that were muted with the closed cap tioning turned on. As Guillory was reading the white text scroll under the broadcasts, he realized the shal lowness of what it was saying. When you have to listen to Wolf Blitzer speaking with flair and passion, pouring profundity into his every word, it sounds good, it looks good and it sells well —but the words coming out of his mouth don’t really mean anything. That’s why citizens have to seek out good written analysis. That’s why “Crossfire” is poison to the uninformed. That’s why “The Daily Show” anchor called Carlson a dick. Stewart said it best: “Stop, stop, stop, stop hurting America.” Contact Nick Parker, a senior journalism and English major, atpanic@email.unc.edu. ‘Sun’ sets on R.E.M.’s reign BY NICOLE BOBITSKI STAFF WRITER R.E.M. has been around the block quite a few times musi cally speaking, at least. That said, the band’s newest release, Around the Sun, hardly conveys its experience or talent, and instead jumps on the band wagon of groups that follow up greatest hits CDs with poorly done comeback albums. While bands such as the Cure, have managed to avoid this fate, R.E.M. follows the longer list of bands that should’ve thought longer and harder before trying to cash in on their dedicated fan base. It’s sort of like the sports hero say, a Carolina alumni who used to play for the Chicago Bulls returning from retirement only to wish that he had just remained a well-missed icon. The album opens with “Leaving New York,” a weak, piano-saturated ballad lead singer Michael Stipe described as a love song to New York written shortly after the Sept. 11,2001, terrorist attacks. That’s about as far as R.E.M.’s usual brand of social commen tary goes on this album, the rest of which seems uncharacteristi- Existential film ultimately flawed BY SALEM NEFF STAFF WRITER It begins with a coincidence. A Sudanese doorman, very tall, about 18, collects publicity shots of celebrities. Albert Markovski (Jason Schwartzman) runs into Sam that’s his name— three times. Why? Thus begins our mystery: David O. Russell’s existential comedy “I Heart Huckabees.” Except the mystery is no psychological thriller; instead, we’ll call it a philosophical quest. And our detectives are no ordi nary Sherlock Holmes. Vivian and Bernard Jaffe (Lily Tomlin, Dustin Hoffinan) uncover the clues to the meaning of life. In short, they believe in existentialism and the “blanket,” symbolic of the reduction in impor tance of absolutely everything. Albert, our primary quest-seeker, presides over an environmental charter and writes heartfelt but sim ply awful pdfetJy’MJrHifes including “You rock, rock.” The Jaffes attempt to center his focus, and in order to solve the case, they must follow him wherever he goes, including the bathroom. Clues can be found any where. The tension between Albert and Brad (Jude Law) attracts the detec tives to the workplace. Although Brad, a Huckabees Corporation climber, excuses Albert’s resentment as an attraction to Dawn (Naomi Watts), his girlfriend and Huckabees spokeswoman, the anger lies deeper. Brad wants to take over the envi ronmental charter to promote his self-hearted outer self and hardball One Located Near You ft* 1 W tytot/l ■wii Voted Students’ #1 Tanning Salon Cheapest Rates Around Cleanest Salon in Town TAN YOUR HIDE TAN YOUR HIDE 2 15-501 S, & Smith Level Rd. i 151 E. Rosemary St 919-942-7177 919-933-2117 ★★★★! OHE OF THE YEAR’S BEST FILMS! THE MOTORCYCBE DIARIES 7:00, 9:30, SAT-SUN 2:00, 4 30 i y huckabees |R];g& <r*.io. tw m, B M l o,r. IH~ UffTHI 7:00. 9:20, SAT-SUN 2:00, 4 20 pMiaaaa vvniS 7:15. 9 10. SAT-SUN 2:10. 4 10 NAPOLEON DYNAMITE 7 00. 9 20, SAT-SUN 2:00, 4 30 WHAT THE #@% 7 10, SAT-SUN 2 10, 4:20 THE BROWN BUNNY 9 30 Diversions MUSICIEVSEW R.E.M. AROUND THE SUN tick cally sappy for the politically and socially outspoken band. “The Outsiders” features the group’s trademark tambourine backbeat but is awkward in that every line seems to have one too many syllables in it. The track also features Q-Tip, former MC for A Tribe Called Quest. Q-Tip is a talented musician in his own right but an out-of-place addition to this album. It’s an indication of dwindling musical mojo when a band recruits a rapper to guest on its alternative rock album. And didn’t they learn from “Radio Song”? “Wanderlust” utilizes a bizarre Christmas-like jingle; as with most of the songs on the album, it lacks the deep lyrical introspection and metaphorical musings R.E.M. usu ally provides. By simply reading its title, the song “The Worst Joke Ever” might seem on the surface like an exten sion of R.E.M.’s Andy Kaufman deification, but with Around the Sun, it’s more likely referring to MOVIEIIfiHW "I HEART HUCKABEES” irk* inner style to the Huckabees execu tive board. In the moment of conflict appears Albert’s new sidekick, Tommy Com (Mark Wahlberg). In the funniest role of Wahlberg’s career, the petro leum activist firefighter shows Albert the “other side”: nihilism under Caterine Vauban (Isabelle Huppert), an old student of the Jaffe’s. Thus appears the conflict of inter est: Will the Jaffes or Vautan give up his or her philosophy for the sake of their clients? Perhaps the deci sion is no longer up to the detectives any longer. Albert and Tommy take matters into their own hands and handlebars, as they search for equi librium between their two teachers. Russell directs “I Heart Huckabees,” an existential comedy and a sidestep from his 1999 Gulf War film “Three Kings,” which also starred Wahlberg. Hoffman and Tomlin are the odd couple, yet per- 300 E. Main Street • Carrboro ■■ ii ii ii link 211 H GOME w/ Augie March" (sls) 22 FR DRESDEN DOLLS / BUTCHIES & Count Zero" (SB/S10) 23 SA COMAS CD Release Party w/ Hotel Lights and Fashion Brigade” (S8) 24 SU DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE w/ PORTASTATIC (sold out) 25 MO DEATH CAB FOR CURE w/ Pretty Girts Make Graves" (sold out) 26 TU PINBACKw/Mates Of State and Aspects Of Physics" (Sl2) 27 WE MATT NAIHANSONw/ Charlotte Martin" (SB/ $10) 28 TH FIERY FURNACES w/Hidden Cameras" ($8) 29 FR El Vez For Prezw/ Art Lords Self Portraits" (Sl2) 30 SA WXYC 80's Dance 31 SU Caribbean Island Benefit w/ Mickey Mills and __StegLDybAddjs i Jgrn Rock (6pm show) IMO ROBYNWCHCOcF(SI3/sls^^^^ 2TU GAVIN DEGRAWw/ Michael loteher" (S2O) 3WE AMERICAN MUSIC CLUB w/Wil Johnson" ($10) 4TH APPETITE FOR DESTRUCTION" (SB/S10) SFR SPENCERACUFF w/ Roman Candle & Bain Mattox 6SA CARBON LEAF w/Pico Vs. Island Trees" (SB/ S10) 7SU Robert Earl Keen w/Greencards" (522) BMO EYEDEA Sr ABILITIES / IHogic / Los Nativos" (Sl2/Sl4) 10WE BIG SANDY AND HIS FLY-RIIE BOYS" (SlO/Sl2) 11 TH JOHN HAMMOND w/ Jon Shain" (Sl2/Sls) Seated Show 12 FR SUZY BOGGUSS" (SIB) 13SA DELGADOSBc CROOKED FINGERS" (SI2) 14 SU BADLY DRAWN BOY w/ADEM" (sl4) 15 MO MATTHEW SWEET w/ Velvet Crush" (Sl2/Sls) 16 TU HOT SNAKES w/ the ponys, emenuel" (sl2/ Sl4) 18 TH BLACK DICE / ANIMAL COLLECTIVE" (S9/S10) 19 FR BOUNCING SOULS, Against Me, Murphy's Law, & More 20 SA Junior Brown" (sl6) 21 SU LUNA w/ Palomar" (Sl2) 22 MO PAPA ROACH" 23 TU STRAYUGHT RUN / HOT ROD CIRCUIT" (sl2/ Sl4) 26 FR RALPH STANLEY" (524/526) 29 MO T.U." (SlB/S2O) 8:30 show JOTLLJjgTMw/Euphpre 8:30 show (SB) 4SA. STEEP CANYON RANGERS SSU Blitz, Anfiseen, Antagonizes 6MO UMPHREYS McGEE BWE ISIS, These Arms Are Snakes 6 Local 506 10/30 David Thomas And Two Pale Boys; 10/31 Mke WOtt; Tkm l /ttay^ W ° 9^: ~/,sGlan,Sand/Sal|V @ Carolina Theatre (Durtiam) 11/18 MARKCOHN 12/4 THE MAGNETIC HELDS (Tickets go on sale Oct. 22 at Carolina Theatre box office) § Carrboro ArttCenter 12/1 JUMP. LITTLE CHILDREN The BBT live music- 18 & over admitted "Advance ticket sales at SchoolKids in Chapel Hill and Raleigh and Radio Free Records in Durham. For Credit Card orders CALL 919-967-9053 www.catscradle.com the album itself. On a positive note, it provides the first song on the CD where the chorus is actually worthy of a sin galong. In “The Ascent of Man,” Stipe repeatedly wails and howls in an off-key voice that makes even the most hardcore R.E.M. fan cringe and yearn for the days of Automatic for the People. Maybe it’s Stipe’s all-too-familiar cadence that’s holding back R.E.M. from astounding listeners with this latest release. Maybe it’s the pervasive absence of gifted drummer Bill Berry, who has been missing from the band’s last three albums. Maybe it’s the simple fact that R.E.M. just can’t top themselves. Regardless, Around the Sun falls sadly short of the traditional suc cess of an R.E.M. recording. The tracks all sound the same, and it lacks the oomph that fans have come to expect from the band. But hey, they can always cut In Time 2: The Best of R.E.M. The first one was missing “Shiny Happy People.” Contact the ACSE Editor at artsdesk@unc.edu. feet for this contemporary salute to society. No new comedic territory is explored by Watts’ aloof character, although she fits the A-list, blonde bombshell type Russell seemed to be searching for. Both Gwyneth Paltrow and Nicole Kidman had to drop the role due to scheduling issues. An all-star cast brings potential hope for this conflicting philosophy, but will such an attempt ever offer solutions? The search for meaning in life seems never ending, and “I Heart Huckabees” makes the distinction between reality and consciousness none the simpler. Contact the ACSE Editor at artsdesk@ unc.edu. I'lt | • 620 Market St. Lllllllllil Take 15/50) South towards Pitts boro Exit Main St./Southern Village SHALL WE DANCE? D 1:45-4:00-7:00-9:30 SHARK TALE EH 1:00-3:05-5:10-7:15-9:20 FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS ESS 1:15-4:10-7:20-9:45 LADDER 49 ESS 1:30-4:15-7:10-9:40 ssss£ Sta“ Woo IbisiTxt|Seating Our chef is a procrastinator. But, we re okay with it now. We’ve learned that just because he doesn’t want to press your fresh tortilla until you walk in the door, it doesn’t make him a bad person. ' In fact, our customers have grown used to seeing our tortilla press cook-up their and , U tortillas right before their eyes. So when you see our chef, don’t be too hard on him, he’s waiting on you! ARHA^ILLO 120 E. Main Street Duke University 493 Glenwood Avenue RtlLlm Carrboro, NC Bryan Center, Durham, NC Raleigh, NC ’’r-yl 929.4669 660.3937 546.0555 A taste as big as Texas! WGFJ-P .. -rill, F/.mus '*•*" HAUOWKNST 0' SURPLUS SIR’S packaged or rental 21TilIII IT Q ? ; um imj ky of mm! 5 Legendary punks still ‘Rock’ in golden years BY JIM WALSH ASSISTANT ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR Orange County, Calif., by some accounts America’s most Republican county, does not come to mind when one considers the roots of punk music, but it should. This affluent slice of the Golden State was the birthplace of Social Distortion, an early front-runner in the West Coast punk scene of the 1980s. After eight years of relative inactivity, sprinkled lightly with solo albums and cover songs, the band’s release of a full-length LP, Seoc, Love and Rock ‘n’Roll, signals its return to the front lines of the American culture wars, follow ing the death of guitarist Dennis Danell, who died of natural causes in 2000. As relevant today as it was more than two decades ago, lead singer Mike Ness’ brazen sound is a refreshing departure from the pseudo-punk trash pandered by current MTV outfits such as Yellowcard and Good Charlotte. His album, at times a tribute to a late bandmate, balances the raw ferocity of the punk genre with a seasoned maturity that comes with more than 20 years’ experience. That’s not to say Ness doesn’t serve up a fair share of the youthful idealism —and sometimes cyni cism upon which his band, and punk music, was built. On “Don’t Take Me for Granted,” written for Danell, Ness eulogizes disenfranchised youth, conjuring images of cigarettes and six-packs and the magic of going to live rock shows. The kids are all right, he says, so just let ’em have their fiin. Ness leaves behind this confi dent optimism on “Nickels and Dimes,” which lauds the benefits of wasting time. The “jailhouse poet” returns to familiar themes in this punchy mantra touting the benefits subsistence. The album as a whole, generally upbeat and thoughtful, is built on a E EASTERN FEDERAL easternfederal.com Online Ticketing Available @ wwwiASTERNFEDERAL.com ( MOVIES AT TIMBERLYNE 'N Weaver Dairy at Airport Rd. 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Social Distortion, like the prospectors of 1849, brought to California, and eventually the world, something that was severe ly lacking —a lust for life and an affinity for sex, love and rock ‘n’ roll. This album, long overdue, is pure gold. Contact the A&E Editor at artsdesk@unc.edu. Thursday, October 21 @ 7ph SBSISL. maa ANCHORMAN Friday, October 22 @7pm Saturday, October 23 @ 9:3opm FREE! *jc^ I Ail movies shown in Carolina Union AixStorium. I 1 FOR MORE INFORMATION CAll 962-2285. | 7
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Oct. 21, 2004, edition 1
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