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Taste: Why everyone
can’t just get along
We came late to the part)-.
What can I say?
It's almost hallway
through January, and we're just
now getting around to printing
our Top 10s.
You're probably asking yourself,
"What gives. Dive?” Maybe you’re
even asking, "Why bother?”
Well, for critics, the year-end
list, as arbitrary and divisive as it
inevitably turns out to be, is an
important ritual. It’s a chance to
show some real enthusiasm for
the art forms we spend our lives
trying to know intimately.
But— most importantly, for
the sake of this column it's also
a measuring stick for our readers.
Even if only indirectly, we crit
ics make having good taste into a
job. And our readers are right to
judge us on our taste.
But there’s a crucial question
in that idea: What exactly is good
taste?
And that, friends, is a danger
ous question.
Asa critic, my taste is a func
tion of my knowledge. The more
I know, the broader my tastes
become. The broader my base of
knowledge and appreciation, the
more diverse my taste can be.
And since one can’t really claim
to have good taste in something
(popular music in my case) as a
whole without at least a modicum
of understanding about the whole
of something, diversity equates to
taste, right?
Well, almost.
On top of the burden of knowl-
Organdrum makes classics fresh
BY JAMIE WILLIAMS
ASSISTANT DIVERSIONS EDITOR
Reverend Organdrum is much
more than your run of the mill side
project.
Essentially, it is a way for psv
chobilly star Jim Heath who
also fronts the Reverend Horton
Heat to explore his burgeoning
curiosity with Hammond Organ
music.
And explore he does, diving deep
into the canon of American music
to craft an album full of mostly
instrumental covers from disparate
genres ranging from New Orleans
jazz to Texas blues, while also draw
ing on soul and surf rock.
The fact that Reverend
Organdrum is able to combine all
of these different genre influences
without losing the listener's atten
tion is not an accomplishment to
be taken lightly and is a reflection
of the trio’s sonic unit)-.
Heath called on friend Tim
Alexander for the organ work that
gives the album its soul, effectively
saving the instrument from its
stufly image as a relic reserved for
religious services.
This record swings, it grooves,
and it will get you dancing along
to familiar songs presented in some
unfamiliar ways.
A highlight is ‘James Bond
Theme,” which is exactly what
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BRYAN REED
WHAT THE VOLUME KNOB'S FOR
edge comes the burden of argu
ment
Because the things we like are
so subjective and personal, we
must be able to defend, or at least
explain, our choices.
But as with anything else in
this world, as much as you defend
your position, someone is always
going to disagree. Whether you're
going with *1 like what I like
because I like it," (a perfectly valid
argument, though I’m reluctant
to admit it) or a rambling thesis
on the ability of Wolves In The
Throne Room's recent album,
Two Hunters , to evoke not only
an emotional sense of lonesome
desolation, but also to create a
dark, cold sense of specific place
and time that manifests itself
both physically and metaphori
cally in the context of the record,
making it an easy choice for year’s
best, you're not wrong.
But you’re not entirely right,
either.
At the end of the day, we like
what we like because we like it,
and sometimes something special
will come along we get so excited
about that it leads to rambling,
abstract theses that try so hard
WATiWK OX fell*
MUSICKFI7FVV
REVEREND ORGANDRUM
HI-f I STEREO
ROCK N ROU
it claims to be, the theme to the
James Bond film series.
Once the organ comes in, the
tune becomes clear, but to get there
one must first get through Heath's
gloriously swampy guitar.
That guitar work adds a layer
to Hi-Fi Stereo that becomes more
and more clear after multiple lis
tens.
It is easy —and certainly fun
to get caught up in Alexander’s
stellar organ grooves, but under
neath, Heath’s guitar work is a
force to be reckoned with.
Nowhere is this more apparent
than on “Night Train,’ the R&B
Diversions
to pin down exactly what about it
is so great but often end up just
expressing an all-out enthusiasm
that should be argument enough.
So what, then, is the job of a
critic?
All year long the critic tries to
keep an open mind to all styles, to
review in context to the cultural
whole and to disregard taste as
much as possible.
But it's impossible to do that.
So, once a year we get the
opportunity to let our tastes run
rampant, ranking the items we
feel were the best, for reasons
ranging from a perceived cultural
importance to the mere fact that
we liked something a whole heck
of a lot
As you peruse our Top-10 lists,
judging Diversions on its collec
tive taste, I’d like to think there
will be something that might
strike your fancy.
But maybe there won’t be.
Then what?
You could write in to tell us
how wrong we were for overlook
ing your favorite movie of the year
or how overrated you think our
favorite record is. And I’ll read
that letter, and I’ll probably dis
agree with it
And sooner or later we’ll both
come to the conclusion that we
like what we like because we like
it. And you don't have to agree
with somebody's taste to respect
it
Contact Bryan Reed at
breed@email.unc.edu.
standard originally recorded and
turned into a l hit by Jimmy
Forrest in 1952.
Reverend Organdrum turns it
on its head, with Heath providing
a walking blues riff that owes just
as much to Heath's Texas roots as
it does to the song’s classic soul
beginnings.
That is not to say that the soul
isn’t there quite the opposite.
Hi-Fi Stereo bleeds emotion,
drawing the listener in with dis
parate styles that somehow never
seem to stray far enough to make
the record sound incomplete.
To say Hi-Fi Stereo has some
thing for everyone would be too
simple.
In effect, this record is for
everyone who claims to be a fan of
American music.
It serves as both a testament to
the power of the classic Hammond
organ sound and Reverend
Organdrum’s creativity and musi
cal cohesiveness.
Contact the Diversions Editor
at dive@ unc.edu
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Atonement’ proves that
details add up in love
BY RACHAEL OEHRING
STAFF WRITER
The smallest of actions always
produces the farthest-reaching
consequences.
“Atonement" illustrates this in
the most devastating way.
The movie, based on the book
by lan McEwan, follows Briony
Tallis as she deals with the rela
tionship between her sister,
Cecilia (Keira Knightley), and the
gardener, Robbie Turner (James
McAvoy).
Briony witnesses a flirtation
between the two that she does not
understand, and, in her jealousy,
tells a lie that irrevocably alters
all three of their lives.
The movie is split up into two
distinct periods, which reflect the
periods of Briony’s life.
The first half is lent a childish
air, with a bright but disjointed
atmosphere.
Director Joe Wright’s choice to
pair small scenes perfectly mirrors
the small actions around which the
movie revolves.
Short scene cuts to short scene
with no apparent connection, and
events are replayed to illustrate
the different points of view of the
characters.
‘Bricks’ sinks in lame excess
BY BRYAN REED
DIVERSIONS EDITOR
Kate Nash is at her abso
lute best singing along to the
plinking toy piano chords of
“Foundations.”
On the standout track from her
debut, Made of Bricks, the British
songwriter predicts an argument
with a poetic specificity that belies
the conflict’s frequent nature and
the fragility of the relationship in
question.
Her lyrics leave no stone
unturned and no edges softened.
“I’ll use that voice that you find
annoying/And say something like
‘Yeah, intelligent input, darling,
why don’t you just have another
beer then?'/Then you’ll call me a
b—h/And everyone we’re with/
Will be embarrassed /And I won’t
give a s—t."
Nash's biggest talent is her abil
ity to make a playful song out of
a tortured relationship and give
it life with descriptive lyrics and
clever turns of phrase.
But on Bricks, the urge to self
edit is glaringly absent.
The album's introduction comes
in the form of “Play," a drum
machine-fueled excrement that
delays the ILstenability of the album
for more than a minute.
And there are too many like
minded mistakes tossed on to
expand the tracklist. “D—khead”
and “S—t Song” being the most
glaring culprits.
MOVIE REVIEW
ATONEMENT
A A A A A
But as the movie progresses, the
scenes stretch into one another
through tight segues, and the odd
timeline begins to make more
sense.
Keira Knightley handles the
material of her lead role with sur
prising competence.
She conveys the stodgy “stiff
upper lip" of British high society
but also radiates emotion well
enough when the time comes for
it
But the film's most affecting
performance comes from James
McAvoy, who is able to convey the
full range of Robbie’s emotions
from embarrassment to alarm
to love —with just a quiet smirk
and a downcast look of his striking
blue eyes.
And “Atonement's sumptuous
cinematography takes on the role
of another character entirely. Its
sentient motions help to put the
audience in the shoes of each char
acter involved.
Whether it’s the frizzy close-ups
MUSICfffV/fW
KATE NASH
MADE OF BRICKS
POP
The unnecessary inclusions
distract from the record, and also
belittle Nash's songwriting talent to
a grave effect
“I)—khead” casts an ugly shadow
on the otherwise beautiful heart
break tale that is “Birds,” a delicate
acoustic guitar tune that utilizes
Nash’s distinct accent and brilliant
attention to detail to great effect.
And Nash also exhibits an
astounding versatility on her debut,
covering the tender melodies of
"Birds” with as much confidence as
the processed boogie of “Pumpkin
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that project the stifling heat of the
English countryside in 1935 or a
magnificent five-minute continu
ous shot that illustrates a war-rav
aged French beach, every scene is
so breathtakingly beautiful that it’s
almost a shame to move on to the
next one.
The gorgeous score is made
more striking in its incorporation
of the tinv-yet-pivotal sounds that
the characters experience through
out the story.
As Cecilia begs Robbie to come
back to her, the sound of the sea
side vacation they promised each
other filter in through the back
ground into the soundtrack and
makes their lost love so much more
devastating.
Though it takes the form of
an epic love story told across the
span of many years, “Atonement"
shows that really, it is the small
things that truly count in love and
life.
From a short moment shared
in a library to a small, festering
wound, the life-changing events
are often the ones that don’t seem
to matter much at first.
Contact the Diiersions Editor
at dive@unc.edu
Soup.”
But for all the clever songwrit
ing. versatility and confidence Nash
puts into the album, it's a tainted
delight, marred by the inclusion of
a few too many throwaway cuts.
Made of Bricks is a lot like an
old pair of socks left in the bottom
of the drawer, dingy, holed and
unloved.
There isn’t much use for the
socks, or the album, except on
laundry day.
But when there’s nothing else
available, it’ll do just fine.
Made of Bricks does exhibit a
budding talent, one that with time
could grow into a force to be reck
oned with. But for now, there's too
much miss to make a proper hit.
Contact the Diversions Editor
at dive@unc.edu
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