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6 thursday.january 17,2008 Triangle country: here today, gone tomorrow? Stupid me. 1 thought when John Howie Jr. sang “Never thought I'd live to see the day when it was over" on the first track of TWo Dollar Pistols' amaz ing last album Here Tomorrow, Gone Today, he was talking about a failed relationship. It made sense. The Pistols are a country band, after all. But in light of last week's announcement that the band would be calling it quits after a few more shows, it now sounds like foreshadowing; a look for ward rather than a look back. Bands hang it up all the time it’s the nature of the game. But with this announcement, the Triangle is losing a staple: a group deserving of inclusion in the legacy of the state s great tradition of Americana and country music. TVvo Dollar Pistols' announce ment, paired with the closing of Raleigh's Hideaway BBQ an establishment heralded in this very publication a few months ago calls the present state of a scene rich in history into question. Where does country music in the Carol inas go from here? I will admit to being a huge proponent of the genre as it existed in the days of the outlaw s Waylon and Willie, before it Raleigh metal act bangs out Colossal fun BY BRYAN REED DIVERSIONS EDITOR Critiquing acts whose primary purpose is to faithfully resurrect a particular (and largely dead) style brings with it its own particular challenges. Colossus, Raleigh's troupe of New-Wave-of-British-Heavy- Metal revivalists, creates all these sorts of critical challenges with its debut I.P. ...And The Rift of the Pan-Dimensional l r ndergods. Since the band's primary mis sion is to recreate the sound of the NWOBHM, we can say outright that the effort isn't pushing into any new musical territory'. We've got all the dueling, wailing guitar solos, driving rhythm sec tions and soaring vocals of bands like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden, and. well, not a whole lot else. OAVEDA INSTITUTE CHAPEL HILL let nature work wonders. w m, I ■■l Spa Q SSSEF" Receive $5 off any facial* Nails Receive $5 off a manicure/pedicure combo* Hair ™? Receive a haircut for sls* 1 <■£££*■ 1 •Present coupon at time of purchase. Not valid with other offers. Expires March 31, 2008. Valid on Wednesday and Thursday appointments Code: DTH.QSI.OB 200 W. Franklin St | 919.960.4769 | www.avedachapelhill.com Got Gift Cards? Want Cash? Turn Your Gift Cards into Cash! Free Shipping From Your Computer! //e qtf* -877-MY JUNGLE plasticjungle.com Ads by Googis JAMIE WILLIAMS BANJOS ARE NEAT morphed into the strange off spring of'7os pop that populates contemporary country radio. In speaking to Howie Jr. ear lier this year for the piece on Hideaway —a restaurant/venue that booked country acts exclu sively we discussed the future of country music, agreeing that it was vital for young listeners to be exposed to what I call the most honest and emotional form of American music. What scares me most about both of the recent announcements is that I can't think of anyone in the Triangle that's making that type of music, the type of music Two Dollar Pistols made. They were good; they were honest; they were country music in a pure sense. With that gone from stages in the area, it begs the question, “Who's left?" Both Thad Cockrell and Tift Merritt will release albums in the But, if you’re a fan of bands that sound like Priest and Maiden, then that’s not a bad thing. Determining whether or not this is a “good" album then begs the question. “How faithful is the band to its source material?" And the answer there is, “Very.” The band plays a tight melee of fretboard acrobatics, with appro priately dramatic vocals (not far at all removed from Rob Halford or Bruce Dickinson), and it's all done with skill and finesse. But despite the band's reverent (to say the least) re-creation of the established sound, Colossus does take one small-but-important step toward establishing its own identity'. The band employs a sense of humor that manifests in the Diversions coming months, but neither are living here anymore. Merritt made like fellow Tar Heel country music expatriate Ryan Adams and headed for New York City, while Cockrell decided to go to Nashville. I’ve been racking my brain in the past few days trying to think of a young country act from the Triangle that really excites me, and the truth is that I’ve come up empty. I couldn't help thinking the same on Monday night, sitting in complete awe of Emmyiou Harris. There weren't many students in the crowd, a trend that I hope isn’t a sign that country music is on a path toward irrelevance. I don't think it is, but it defi nitely needs a kick to get moving again, something these finales aren't helping. But, here's hoping I’m wrong, that this music I love so much isn't losing its hold. And, seriously, get out and see the Two Dollar Pistols in the next few months. My hope is that there will be someone in the crowd that likes what he or she hears and wants to emulate it. We need it Contact Jamie Williams at jarneswe@email.unc.edu. MVSIQREVIEW COLOSSUS ...AND THE RIFT OF THE PAN-DIMEN SIONAL UNDERGODS HEAVY METAL A A A A A playfully absurdist fantasies of songs such as the self-explanatory “Ghostf—ker’ or the triumphant “Limit Break." Colossus takes every power metal cliche, sets it out note-for note and adds a wink and a nod to the listener. The band knows exactly what it’s doing, and for all the shred ding, there's not a sliver of self aggrandizement or pretentiousness just headbanging, beer-guzzling, Flying-V-playing good times. Contact the Diversions Editor at dive@unc.edu. 300 E. 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But “There Will Be Blood." the latest offering from Paul Thomas Anderson (“Boogie Nights," "Magnolia’), manages to craft a rich characterization of the greed that motivated the trailblazers of American industry and how lonely it was at the front of the pack. The movie, based loosely on Upton Sinclair's novel, “Oil!,* follows oil prospector Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) as he drills for black gold in a remote California town and tries to deal with the religious locals and their crazy preacher/leader, Eli Sunday (Paul Dano). The nearly three-hour run ning time is daunting, but the plot unfolds exactly as it should. Events just happen, snaking their way slowly but surely to a terrifying conclusion and a darkly humorous last frame. There are no huge events that crash down, no sudden revelations. Anderson takes his time telling this story and every second is worth it. The score, provided by Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood, is simultaneously angry and panic-stricken. The detuned horror strings that Rings’ isolated sweetness thrills BY JORDAN LAWRENCE STAFF WRITER Black Habit the debut outing from New York experimental [Hip trio Rings seems to come at the listener from far away. The three women's voices com pete for attention as they layer together in washed-out despera tion. Interweaving pop melodies and abrasive noise elements then are piled on top, creating the impres sion that the singers are struggling against an onslaught just to be heard. On a record that sets its sights on isolation and overcoming per sonal conflicts, the aesthetic works well. The middle section of opener “All Right Peace" finds the voices fighting through a wave of what should be complementary piano and guitar melodies, proclaim ing, “My insides have outsized our make up most of the soundtrack are nothing short of terrifying. The movie opens to a vast, desolate plain with the creepy orchestra coming to such an over whelming swell that it seems as if some cannibal zombie holding Daniel Day-Lewis' severed head is going to pop up out of nowhere. The horror-like soundtrack appropriately reflects a real kind of horror not that of ghosts and serial killers, but the kind of atrocities that people commit on each other through lies and manipulation and a sheer hatred for humanity. Those are the real monsters who in effect eat each other alive, and the film masterfully depicts the depths that one will plumb in order to get what he wants. In his drive for greatness, Plainview is that monster, bent on destroying the world and getting a few bucks along the way. His contempt for humanity is so vehement that he doesn't care whose life he ruins, including his own. That type of contempt is especially significant today, in a time when we are faced with, and trying to reconcile, the type of person who hates someone else so much that he will kill himself in order to see his enemy destroyed. Daniel's loathing drips from every word he utters and culmi- lives." In this song, melodies that should create peaceful serenity clash and explode like an aerial dogfight, creating a sonic tumult the singer strives to overcome. The rest of Black Habit follows a similar pattern. Soft pop melo dies are piled up to become insular and caustic. The singers seek to triumph and grow while the music continues to beat them down again and again. Though it works most of the time. Rings' approach can become annoying. The overly repetitive piano and shrill vocals of “Tone Poem" grate on the listener too heavily to be excused as soul searching. And though the propulsive, dis torted guitar overload of “Scape Aside" is the closest the album gets to catchy, at six minutes the song drags on too long to take full advantage of its engaging rhythm. dhr Daily dar Rpfl MOVIE REVIEW THERE WILL BE BLOOD AAA A A ★tinrir nates in a heartbreaking exchange with his son, H.W., perhaps the only person he loves. That is, until he too crosses him. Day-Lewis acts with such an intensity and well-constructed hatred for those around him, it’s hard not to think that he rou tinely comments on how much he loathes “these people." He has the most perfect old timey accent, and the care that he took in preparing this role is evi dent right down to the limp that Daniel (sometimes) sports. Dano, while screechy at times, plays Eli Sunday with the same kind of unrelenting earnestness and vulnerability that made his per formance in “Little Miss Sunshine’ so surprising. Neither actor holds back in his performance, and the way they play off of each other, especially in the final scene, is manipulative, dark and powerful. “There Will Be Blood’ is a viscer al, yet restrained, look at how greed ruins people, and Anderson does a wonderful job of illustrating this. Contact the Diversions Editor at dive@unc.edu. MUSIC /?FV / /fW RINGS BLACK HABIT EXPERIMENTAL POP irtekirk But it's easy to overlook such faults once the listener gets swept away in the record's all-consuming impressions of isolated despera tion brought to their full height by closer “Teepee." In frail harmonics set over lonely piano, the lyrics bemoan the plight of trying to find a close connection with anyone in this world, until the singer concludes. “Letting go of a life of two/This world's too big for me and you." After experiencing the struggle and isolation Rings' music creates, it’s hard not to agree. Contact the Diversions Editor at dive@unc.edu.
Daily Tar Heel (Chapel Hill, N.C.)
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Jan. 17, 2008, edition 1
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