6
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2005
Pussycat Dolls:
not so talented
with the music
BY ANDREW CHAN
STAFF WRITER
Don’t cha wish this girl group
would go away? Don’t cha?
Well, it just might. The Pussycat
Doll’s debut album, PCD, makes it
clear that the group isn’t hoping to
be anything more than a one-hit
wonder.
It would be unfair to expect
more from the Dolls. They’re actu
ally a Los Angeles-based burlesque
dance revue that, for no apparent
reason, has landed a record deal.
Part of the fun is in realizing
that they have no idea what they’re
doing in the spotlight. Their album
has the feel of an EP that can’t sus
tain itself past the first two songs.
Funny enough, it also has its
share of surprises. This summer’s
favorite female sex anthem the
Dolls’ Cee-Lo-produced lead single
“Don’t Cha” isn’t half bad.
The verses are adequately slinky
R&B, even if the come-on chorus
(variations on the line “Don’t cha
wish your girlfriend was hot like
me?”) has the irritating redundan
cy of someone tapping you on the
shoulder.
What listeners might not be
ready for is a double surprise on
the second track. Who would expect
this group to have another winner
on their hands, and who on earth
would have imagined it would come
from the Black Eyed Peas’ fairly
untalented MC Will.i.am?
On “Beep,” the album’s catchiest
moment, he drops the self-impor
tance and gives himself up to gim
micks and amusement.
The disc’s only upsetting let
downs are the Timbaland and Rich
Harrison songs. They are bottom
of-the-barrel throwaways from two
producers who once made R&B’s
most enjoyable beats but now are
growing tiresome.
To emphasize their air of dis
posability, the Dolls have enlisted
a member from the short-lived girl
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MUSIC
THE PUSSYCAT DOLLS
PCD
irk
group Eden’s Crush as their main
diva. Nicole Scherzinger laid down
most of the vocals with reasonable
style, so one wonders what role
the original members are meant
to serve.
The group poses as anachronis
tic, rounding out their first release
with unlistenable, overworked cov
ers of Soft Cell, the Supremes and
Nina Simone.
But the worst traits of their debut
are the ones that hearken back to the
golden age of disco. (They even rip
off Donna Summer’s “Hot Stuff”)
Like Andrea True the porn
actress who sang the disco classic
“More, More, More” the Dolls
are selling carnality as the only
facet of their personalities. For
them, even the cultivation of a sub
stantial image is incidental.
Swaggering, finger-snapping
and playing hard to get are their
only means of communicating
their disengaged and juvenile form
of sexuality.
Worst of all, unlike the best of
disco, most of their music lacks a
healthy sense of abandon.
Contact the AdE Editor
at artsdesk@unc.edu.
Diversions
AIM kills in haunting flick
Internet horror
full of surprises
BY HARRY KAPLOWITZ
STAFF WRITER
Whatever happened to teen
agers using the Internet to spam
their way to free iPods and search
for pornography?
Apparently that’s not enough
for the kids of Westlake Prep in
Rogue Pictures’ latest screamer,
“Cry_Wolf.”
The flick revolves around the
premise that a group of bored,
overeducated prep school stu
dents create a serial killer after
they hear about a local murder.
Using AOL Instant Messenger
and the campus listserv to spread
the news, the well-formed yet over
ly complex characters lie, cheat and
kill their way to a surprise ending
and a baffling level of quality not
often seen in the genre.
“Cry_Wolf” is kind of like play
ing soccer: You do well in soccer
so long as you don’t screw up; as
long as you’re running down the
field with some apparent intended
purpose, you’re doing your job.
The movie does a lot of running
around, with an intended direc
tion most of the time, and goes to
painstaking levels to make sure it
Switchfoot changes its tune
Latest LP lacks
proven sound
BY RACHEL RICHEY
STAFF WRITER
The fifth studio album from
San Diego’s breakout Christian
rock quintet Switchfoot brings
both anew sound and anew band
member to the mix.
“Nothing is Sound” opens with
the soul-stirring chord structure
the group is known for, featuring
guitarist Andrew Shirley’s official
debut as the group’s fifth mem
ber.
Asa result, Switchfoot uses
its latest release as a vehicle for
experimentation with both hard
er and softer guitar riffs.
The band’s harder electric
edge is showcased on tracks like
“Politicians” and the hit-single
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The
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Leah Miraglia
miraglia@email.unc.edu or
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doesn’t self-destruct by replicat
ing too many slasher-flick cliches.
The effort pays off
“Cry_Wolf ” wraps up with two
surprise endings. First, there’s
the film’s climax, a well-written
final blow' with an obligatory plot
twist. And then there’s the sheer
surprise that the movie wasn’t as
bad as one would originally sus
pect.
Take a look at the makings: a
shoestring budget (reportedly,
a paltry $1 million); a relatively
unknown cast (save for the ran
dom inclusion of Jon Bon Jovi)
and a first-time feature director
at the project’s helm.
Sounds like a recipe for cin
ematic disaster, right? Somehow
though, director Jeff Wadlow and
company make it work.
Sure, you’ll find yourself LOL
ing (hehe, get it?) at the idiocy of
some of the plot twists, but that’s
the beauty of it.
Sure, the film has about as
much cinematic ingenuity as
Randy Quaid, but the genre isn’t
exactly known for its creativity.
The last whodunit to do
anything original was 1996’s
“Scream,” and that’s only because
writer Kevin Williamson knew it
hadn’t been done right in a while.
And, in so doing, he spawned the
psuedo-creativity of the masses.
to-be “Stars.”
The heavier sound is comple
mented by the group’s choice
to include U2-esque ballads
such as “The Shadow Proves
the Sunshine” and “We Are One
Tonight.”
Rapidly gaining momen
tum in the modern rock circuit,
Switchfoot has managed to break
away from the negative industry
stigma traditionally associated
with Christian rock.
Nothing is Sound runs the
gamut in terms of genre from
country-pop to straightforward
pop-rock all the while dabbling
in alt-rock riffs.
“The Fatal Wound” boasts an
acoustic, harmonica-rock style
sound similar to Tom Petty’s and
maintains the raspy purity of
frontman Jonathan Foreman’s
signature voice.
While the band has shown sig-
JJl§ jH 111 ..Jiff
COURTESY OF ROGUE PICTURES
In director Jeff Wadlow's slasher feature debut, audiences are treated
to an inside look at a young aristocracy's dirty little Internet secrets.
movie mmm
'CRY_WOLF'
irkk
Thanks, Kevin.
Don’t be fooled, though. “Cry_
Wolf” isn’t just a cheap slasher
movie. It’s a cheap slasher movie
with style and market savvy.
Every shot appears as seam
less as any moderately budgeted
MUSIC
SWITCHFOOT
NOTHING IS SOUND
★★★
nificant musical growth, it has
taken a colossal leap backward
lyrically.
Switchfoot has toned down
the spiritual emphasis of its lyr
ics considerably.
The boys have opted instead
towards more traditional themes
such as commercialism, patrio
tism and society’s bastardization
of all things sexual.
That is a disappointing turn
from a group known for its pas
sionate lyrical ballads that are
so divinely subtle in nature that
they lend themselves to a variety
of open interpretations.
Considering the ongoing suc
cess of 2003’s The Beautiful
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Wes Craven or, dare it be said, M.
Night Shyamalan film. Wadlow
made his meager allowance work
for him, and it shows on screen.
“Cry_Wolf” tries so hard not
to be stupid that it actually tricks
itself into believing that it may, in
fact, be clever.
OMG Now that’s scary.
Contact theA&E Editor
at artsdesk@unc.edu.
Letdown, it’s tempting to wonder
if this lackluster album is another
example of what can happen with
a premature release.
Having come to expect nothing
short of spectacular from such a
talented group, this half-hearted
effort though decent in struc
ture and composition is indeed
a beautiful letdown.
Contact the AdE Editor
at artsdesk@unc.edu.
STAR fSTEM
★ POOR
★★ FAIR
★★★ GOOD
★★★★ EXCELLENT
kkkkk classic