6
thursday.january 10,2008
WHILE THE GETTIN’S HOT
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DTM/BRYAN REED
Juan Huevos brought his rhymes straight to the people
Saturday at Local 506. And while the crowd was obvi
ously there for headliner Dan Deacon, Huevos was able
to score some new fans, while Deacon did nothing more than
keep his legion of hipper-than-thou kids satisfied.
Heartfelt ‘Juno’ turns
touchy into touching
BY RACHEL BRODY
STAEF WRITER
With teen pregnancies (Jamie
Lynn Spears) in the public eye,
a comedy about a girl barely old
enough to drive having a baby
could raise an eyebrow or two.
But to attack the film for send
ing undesirable messages to teen
age girls would be a vast oversim
plification.
“Juno" is a thoughtfiil and funny
film that creates complex char
acters capable of tackling tough
themes while maintaining the off
beat humor set from the start.
That a storyline about teenage
pregnancy avoids both dramatic
cliches and distasteful humor is a
testament to Diablo Cody’s unique
and clever writing.
Juno Mac Guff (Ellen Page) is a
16-year-old girl who becomes preg
nant after a one-time encounter
with her best friend, Paulie Bleeker
(Michael Cera).
She decides to keep the baby and
goes in search of adoptive parents.
As her situation sinks in. the shock
wears off and Juno’s sharp wit and
mature strength blend well in the
world of surprised adults.
Ellen Page is remarkable as the
sardonic Juno. She delivers her
quips with ease and her youthful
frame is the perfect contrast to the
adult world she is pushed into.
Page expertly conveys the con
tradictions that exist in the char
acter.
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MOVIE REVIEW
JUNO
Juno is an exaggerated char
acter in a serious situation, but
her many quirks prevent her from
becoming larger than life.
A role that could have eas
ily become a demonstration of
unusual maturity is complicated
by reminders of Juno's age.
She is the kind of girl who wittily
retorts with inspiring ease, all while
chatting on her hamburger phone
and sipping on a blue Slurpee.
The rest of the cast is well con
structed from Juno's unorthodox
family to the yuppies she selects
to raise her baby. Jennifer Garner
shines as the uptight, eager moth
er-to-be Vanessa.
Even in a simple scene such as
choosing what shade of yellow to
paint the nursery, Gamer conveys
the intense desires and disappoint
ments of a woman unable to have
children of her own.
While the plot of “Juno” centers
around a taboo theme, the bril
liance of the film is that while the
pregnancy initially seems to be the
focus, it becomes a mere undertone
for the hilarious and moving devel
opment of its characters.
Contact the Diversions Editor
at dive@unc.edu
Diversions
Best of the Tar Heel State:
Top 10 Albums
10. Seth Kauffman, Research
(Park The Van)
For the entirety of Research,
Seth Kauffman rides a loose, funky
groove built with ramshackle per
cussion, vintage R&B melodies,
and arrangements borrowing from
rockabilly and blues.
It’s a remarkably singular effort,
especially considering it borrows
elements from so much.
The albums 10-fi production
aesthetic augments Kauffman's
mid-range moan and lends the
record an air of timelessness made
more profound by the subtle charm
that comes with Kauffman’s consis
tently engaging songcraft.
9. Between The Buried And
Me, Colors (Victory)
Between The Buried And Me has
long been hailed as metal’s greatest
hope in the Carolinas, but it took
Colors, BTBAM’s epic fifth album,
to prove it.
Traversing varied musical land
scapes from death metal’s brutal
blast beats to the most harmonic
elements of prog rock. Colors is the
rare metal album welded together
with wonderful surprises.
B. Filthybird, Southern Skies
(Red Strings)
Filthybird has the ultimate gift
in lead singer/songwriter Renee
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11am-4pm • Great Hall, Student Union
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Mendoza. Her voice drifts delicate
ly but inescapably, like smoke aloft
in a darkened room for 10 sensuous
psych-country ballads.
Mendoza’s excellent songwriting
doesn't hurt, either.
But Mendoza is far from
Filthybird s only strength.
Brian Haran offers just the right
touch of crunchy Southern-fried gui
tar. drenched in reverb and in perfect
harmony with Mendoza's vocals.
7, Sweater Weather, Now,
Everyone Can Sing (Self-
Released)
Sweater Weathers stunning
debut LP is nothing if not a labor
of love. The eight-member mini
orchestra spent years perfecting
the recording, and the end result
is nothing short of astounding.
Casey Trela's voice conveys a
dynamic range of emotions, all
of which culminate in a cathartic
release of joy as bandmates fall into
lockstep behind him. their instru
ments creating a palpable swell in
the songs capable of overwhelming
whatever venue dares try to con
tain the sound and the presence of
Sweater Weather’s music.
6. Nathan Oliver, Nathan
Oliver (Pox World Empire)
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{& 4f“ *
On Nathan Oliver’s self-titled
debut, the band brings frontman
Nathan White’s version of indie
rock to the forefront.
And that vision is pure, built
around White's guitar paired with
a pounding rhythm section and
Mark Lebetkin's viola.
White’s yelps and screams add
flair and dynamics to his decep
tively brilliant songwriting.
Nathan Oliver holds 10 songs
that bounce and dart into dark
corners, proving this isn’t even
close to standard singer/song
writer fare.
5. Schooner, Hold On Too
Tight (54*40' or Fight!)
aw.. "
Schooner is a band of opposing
dualities: Reid Johnson's worn
and-weary croon paired with sister
Kathryn's sweet harmonies: dark
emotions lurking behind charm
ing pop tunes.
On Hold On Too Tight, the band
spins 16 yarns of heartbroken,
bleary-eyed indie rock, delivered
with a hopeful sheen, dripping
reverb and buoyant melodies.
It's the kind of recording that
comes from love lost and found in
a small town, from coming to grips
with life’s finalities and from hitting
a remarkable stride as a band.
4. David Karsten Daniels,
Sharp Teeth (Fat Cat)
/- r ’
Sharp Teeth got more attention
for its shocking cover art (done by
Bowerbirds' Beth Tacular) than for
the music behind the sleeve —and
that's a crying shame.
The album is a layered effort
that builds upon Daniels' lyrics
with the crushing weight of dam
aged love delivered by an orchestra
of friends able to lift the lonesome
songwriter into bursts of cataclys
mic beauty.
Powerful crescendoes, perfect
ly placed strings and horns and
friendly group harmonies deliver
memorable hooks and tender pop
for the duration.
But Daniels is the star here,
never trading intimacy for bom
bast, making Sharp Teeth as affect
ing to the heart as to the ears.
3. Bowerbirds, Hymns For A
Dark Horse (Burly Time)
- A '
With a sound that seems to have
sprung as gently as a seedling from
the Piedmont soil, Bowerbirds deliv
er an understated charge in their
acoustically inclined folk music.
Phil Moore (formerly of
Ticonderoga) carries the songs
with the restrained power in his
voice and deliberate finger-picked
guitar, while Beth Tacular and
Mark Paulson offer warm har
monies. as well as accordion and
percussion parts that help the
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already delightful music go down
easy , while descriptions of natural
beauty urging for environmental
ism slip in with the sweetness of
the melodies.
2. The Future Kings of
Nowhere, The Future Kings
of Nowhere (307 Knox)
The self-titled debut from
IJurham’s Future Kings ofNowhere
explodes with a defiant resignation
and never lets up.
From the group-sung bombast
of “Lather, Rinse, Repeat"s *f~k
it all’ refrain to the heartbreak
ing scene cast by “Emily," Shayne
O’Neill writes with a poet's atten
tion to detail, a psychologist's atten
tion to emotion and a punk rocker’s
disregard for complex song struc
ture. Power chords and the truth do
more here than they have since Joe
Strummer last took to a stage.
Any heart that’s ever been bro
ken by a lover, a friend or The Man
will find solace and catharsis in
The Future Kings of Nowhere.
1. Little Brother, Get Back
(ABB)
Recovering from the loss of pro
ducer extraordinaire 9th Wonder
and the loss of a major label record
ing contract, Little Brother (now the
duo of MCs Phonte and Rapper Big
Pooh) came back with a vengeance,
delivering a fiery re-introduction in
the form of Get Back.
It kicks off with "Sirens," a ven
omous accusation to fairweather
fans and frustrated defense of hip
hop highlighted by impeccable flow
and inventive lyrics like, “They try
to blame this rap s-t for all of our
ills/Like I could stick you up with
a mic/Like I could rape you with a
verse or use a verb as a knife."
But it’s not all rage for Durham's
finest. “Good Clothes," bounces
along a cheery horn-and-hand
clap beat with undeniable finesse
and a sarcastic humor: “I still got
stone-washed denim, a patent
leather Member’s Only jacket/Ain’t
nobody fresher than me"
The duo delivers on all accounts,
with a sharp eye for detail, smooth
delivery and a self-deprecating wit
that can only come as the after
math of a deflated ego.
Mostly though. Get Back deliv
ers the kind of rap that surfs in the
wonderful commercial purgatory
of realism. Its greatest strength is
its relatability Get Back brings
the audience into it, instead of
merely offering empty fantasy.
Contact the Diversions Editor
atdive@unc.edu.