INSIDEBEATTHE WEEKLY ENTERTAINMENT MAGAZINE OF THE DAILY TARGUM

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jack's mannequinInside Beat delves into the legacy ofthis inspiring frontman who recently

took over the College Ave Gym.

Page 2 • Inside Beat Column • Books October 29, 2009

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BY MICHAEL MALVASIOFASHION EDITOR

Saturday is almost here andthat means you only have a coupledays left to decide on a costume.The pressure is on — especiallyfor the girls on campus, facedeach year with the same question:“How can I make this costumesexy?” In case you are still unsure,we decided to put together this lit-tle quiz to help you figure out whatkind of sexy you were meant to be.Like Cady from Mean Girls said,“Halloween is the one night a yearwhen girls can dress like a totalslut and no other girls can say any-thing about it.”

A Halloween Quiz

EDITORIAL BOARD

THIS WEEK’S CONTRIBUTORS TO INSIDE BEAT : Ariyeh Carni, Ciara Copell, Marc Mance, Ashley Park, Amy Rowe, Rosanna Volis, Tara L. Young.

Cover photo by Angelica Bonus.

MARGARET DARIAS.................................................EDITOR

TOM WRIGHT-PIERSANTI..................ASSOCIATE EDITOR

STACY DOUEK.......................................................................................ASSISTANT EDITOR

NIDHI SARAIYA...........................................................................................BOOKS EDITOR

ADRIENNE VOGT...........................................................................................COPY EDITOR

MICHAEL MALVASIO................................................................................FASHION EDITOR

EMILY SCHACHTMAN...................................................................................................FILM EDITOR

JASON STIVES............................................................................................................MUSIC EDITOR

TOM WRIGHT-PIERSANTI........................................................................................TV EDITOR

INSIDEBEATRutgers Student Center

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BY ASHLEY PARKSTAFF WRITER

Meet Lily Casey Smith. Bornand raised in the frontier of Amer-ica in Texas, this gal is no springchicken. By the age of five, shebegan breaking wild horses. At fif-teen, she became a schoolteacher.Also on her resume are racehorsejockey, bootlegger, and airplanepilot. She has survived everythingfrom flash floods and tornadoes tocity-slicking con artists and home-lessness. This remarkable womanhas so much inner strength that

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1) With your Halloween candy youwill…?

A. Eat it right awayB. Give it to your siblingC. Put your Snicker bar in the toilet

(ew!)D. Save it for later

2) This Saturday night, you will…?A. Visit a scary haunted houseB. Give out candy to trick or treatersC. Throw eggs at peopleD. Stay at home and study

3) On Halloween, you will hand out…?A. WarheadsB. ToothbrushesC. Laffy TaffyD. Apples

4) Your favorite thing to watch on Halloween is…?A. A scary horror film!B. It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie

BrownC. The Simpsons “Treehouse of

Horror”D. A documentary about the origin of

Halloween

5) You will say to trick-or-treaters…?A. “Who wants seconds?!” B. “AAWWWWW! Those are such

cute costumes!”C. Jump out and yell, “boo!”D. “One at a time, please.”

Mostly A’s (A sexy superhero): It’s a bird, it’s aplane, no wait, it’s a super hot, super woman costume! Youare strong and daring — completely ready to be the girlthat swoops in and saves the party this Halloween.

Mostly B’s (A sexy nurse): “Hello Nurse!” You carefor others at the party and don’t want them to feel un-comfortable while having a good time. Try a tight whiteleather dress, a pair of stretchy latex gloves, and perhapsa stethoscope to match. Knock, knock — the doctor is in!

Mostly C’s (A sexy clown): You crack everyone upat the party; however, you’re no ordinary clown! You ditchthe big red shoes for some seductive red pumps — mak-ing everyone envy you for your looks and your jokes.

Mostly D’s (A sexy teacher):You are intelligent and taste-ful in bringing sex appeal to your costume. A pleaded schoolgirlskirt matched with some black-rimmed glasses —very sexy!

when the world knocks her down,she ricochets right back up.

Half Broke Horses is an ex-traordinary tale by JeannetteWalls, the granddaughter of LilyCasey Smith. The stories chroni-cled in this book are mostly oralhistory. It is more of a commemo-rative novel than a slice of history,Walls claims. Written in first per-son, the naturalistic voice andsharp humor reveals someonewho was undeniably real.

Lily, born in 1901, was raised ina homestead in west Texas. Lily’sfather, Jim Smith, is a convicted

murderer (supposedly on trumpedup charges) and a “tough-as-nuts”rancher. On the other hand, hermother is, as Lily describes, a use-less, corseted prissy, who loungesin the house while others work.This leaves young Lily with manyresponsibilities. She is in charge ofselling the eggs, hiring and firingworkers, and breaking wild horsesto accept riders. Her no-fuss per-sonality throughout it all is love-able and inspiring.

At the age of thirteen, she be-gins her schooling at Sisters ofLoretto Academy, where she be-

gins to love learning. Her educa-tion is cut short after a year whenher father decides to splurge hertuition on imported Great Danes.But as Lily views it, when one doorcloses in life, another one opens.Soon, she finds a job as a teacherin Arizona and moves out to theAmerican Southwest.

Like tumbleweed, Lily travelsfrom town to town, adopting a va-riety of different roles — maid,wife and mother, schoolmarm, andpoker player. As she searches forher purpose in life, Lily makes thebest of the cards she has been

dealt. Her astounding vitality andfreedom of spirit keeps her mov-ing ever forward in the story whileher biting humor never fails to en-tertain the reader. She is like thewestern version of Scarlett O’Harawith lots of fiddle-dee-dee and astrong-hearted optimism.

Fans of Jeannette Walls’sGlass Castle, a New York Timesbest-seller, will relish every wordof Half Broke Horses. From be-ginning to end, her charismaticstory is a testament to life itselfand a memoir of a lost time inAmerican history.

EDGARALLEN POE

Poe may bewell-known forhis verse, but

both his poetr yand prose bring

out that desperateside of human na-

ture better left con-cealed. His celebrated

poems, “The Raven” and“Annabel Lee,” tell of men driven

to insanity over the loss of theirlovers. His equally-acclaimed stories,“The Tell-Tale Heart,” “The Pit and thePendulum” and “The Facts in the Caseof M. Valdemar,” bring the feelings ofguilt, fear and death to the forefront ofreaders’ minds. It is impossible not to

be engrossed in his sinister plots andhaunting words.

With the release of a new Saw movie every Oct. 31 like clockwork, weknow it is that time of year again. Halloween brings out our inner urge

to sit through terrifying movies and experience those “jump-out-of-your-seat” thrills. But no film can beat the mind’s ability to picture

the worst, and a good horror writer knows just how to makethoughts of their disturbing tales linger in the imagination.

Here are the book editor’s picks for classic and modern mas-ters of macabre.

October 29, 2009 Film • Books Inside Beat • Page 3

asters ofacabreM

STEPHEN KING

You really cannot have a list ofinfluential horror authors withoutincluding Stephen King. Lovehim or hate him, he has made aname for himself in the world ofscary literature for 35 years, pen-ning staples of the genre like TheShining, It and Pet Sematary. Buthis some of his most chillingworks are hidden within thepages of his short story andnovella collections. “Apt Pupil”and “The Body” from Different - Seasons, “Survivor Type” fromSkeleton Crew, “The Langoliers”from Four Past Midnight, and“Children of the Corn” fromNight Shift are particularly mem-orable. Aside from the thrill fac-tor, these stories confirm King’sability to find the creepy side ofjust about anything.

QUALITY OVER QUANTITY

They may not have a body of work as impres-sive as King or Poe, but these renowned authorshave earned praise from fans and critics alike.

Check out:

BY NIDHI SARAIYABOOKS EDITOR

HEART-SHAPED BOX BY JO

E HILL

HEART-SHAPED BOX BY JO

E HILL

THE EXORCIST

BY WILLIAM

PETER BLATTY

HOU

SE OF LEAVES

BY MARK Z. DAN

IELEWSKI

DRACULA

BY BRAM STO

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THE HAUN

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OF HILL HO

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BY SHIRLEY JACKSON

Director Kevin Shaw’sstirring documentary, TheStreet Stops Here, follows suc-cessful high school basket-ball coach Bob Hurley Sr.,who dedicated 35 years tokeeping the doors of St. An-thony’s High School openand led its players to gloryon and off the court. His methodical yet volatile style works mira-cles. This is a story about teenagers fighting their way out of Jer-sey City, armed with little more than a basketball and the hardwisdom of an uncompromising coach who demands perfectionfrom kids who have known little success elsewhere. Mike Rosario,star of the Rutgers University basketball team, plays an importantrole in Hurley’s story.

This film will be screened Nov. 1 and 6, at Scott Hall 123, within-person appearances by Director Kevin Shaw. More informationcan be found at www.njfilmfest.com.

— Emily Schachtman

The Street Stops Here

BY CIARA COPELLSTAFF WRITER

Cashing in on the recent vampire craze, The Vampire’s Assistant,based on the Cirque du Freak book series, is mediocre at best. ThoughJohn C. Reilly (Stepbrothers) delivers a solid performance as 200-year-old vampire Mr. Crepsley, newcomer Chris Massoglia, who stars as theyoung teenager Darren, lifelessly interprets his character.

Directed by Paul Weitz (American Pie, About a Boy), the story re-volves around Darren becoming half-vampire to save his best friendSteve (Josh Hutcherson, Kicking & Screaming). Darren is forced to joina freak show as Crepsley’s assistant. In a predictable plot “twist,” anenemy clan of vampires recruits Steve, and the two friends are pittedagainst each other.

The movie seems to follow the trend (also seen in the Twilightsaga) of making vampires conscientious of human life. Vampires onlysuck a little bit of human blood, leaving the humans they feed on com-pletely unscathed and unaware of any attack because of a gas thatthey breathe on people to knock them out for a short period of time.The film is full of various unbelievable — even for a vampire movie —details such as this.

The film has a very conventional plot line, including an awkward sub-plot of Darren falling in love with one of the girls in the freak show, Re-becca (Jessica Carlson). That said, The Vampire’s Assistant does a greatjob creating the freaks without looking cheesy. They include a snake boy(Patrick Fugit, Almost Famous) and a woman who can regenerate herlimbs (Jane Krakowski, 30 Rock). Especially impressive is the graphicdepartment’s ability to make the beautiful Salma Hayek (Frida) sponta-neously sprout a beard.

Along with the effects for the characters, the special effects for the ac-tion of the film are equally striking. Most notable is the interpretation ofthe vampires’ speed — blurs of colors are used to show them moveacross large spaces quickly.

The Vampire’s Assistant leaves much to be desired by the end of thefilm, but it has its high points. Special effects and an interesting cast ofcharacters advance the film, but it is not enough to save the uninspiringplot line.

BY TARA L. YOUNGSTAFF WRITER

Capitalism: A Love Story opens with a comparison ofancient Rome’s decline and what is currently happen-ing in America. The viewer takes a deep breath to bracefor the possibly depressing scene to follow — but maybe shocked into laughter when that scene depictsAmerica’s decline as the popular YouTube clip of a catflushing the toilet. This is stylistic of Michael Moore’sfilmmaking: humor interjected into “serious” issues.

Moore has a long-standing polarizing status inAmerica, especially with Hollywood and WashingtonD.C. He uses extremist presentations of issues thatneed to be addressed in the nation — currently it isour economy and how it affects the working class. InChicago, a grown man was reduced to tears becausehis factory shut down and the company went bank-rupt, unable to even pay employees. When workerslive paycheck to paycheck, it is unfathomable howthey will survive.

The film presents another minimum wage-earninggroup of people that one would never suspect — air-line pilots. Several pilots speak about how they havesecond jobs and a massive amount of debt fromschool. One pilot even needs food stamps in order toeat and is amassing credit card debt in the range of

CAPITALISM:

Cirque du Freak: The Vampire’s Assitant

Paul Weitz| C

next week at the nj film fest:

Michael Moore A-A Love Story

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$10,000 to pay his household bills. The question isthen posed: Why do they put up with it? Answer: Forthe simple love of flying.

The bank bailout is presented as a shady back-room deal. Moore visits Capitol Hill for answers, butthe representatives have no clearer insight than hedoes. One good side to the bailout is shown, as thefactory workers in Chicago protest with an old fash-ioned sit-in, and eventually Bank of America usesbailout money to pay the workers their wages andseverance packages. Though a small amount, it isenough to sustain families until they find another job.

The movie shows “the people” can make a differ-ence and is thus a source of hope for Moore. He is en-chanted with one man in particular from Illinois:President Barack Obama. Like many Americans,Moore holds the belief that with the election ofObama, social reform is on the horizon. Can wechange? “Yes we can.”

Moore’s presentation in Capitalism: A Love Storycomes across as propagandistic, but when viewedwith a critical eye, as most students are taught to do,the information presented cannot be ignored.Whether you love him or hate him, this film should beseen by everyone. For the many criticisms Moore re-ceives, he at least achieves his objective by gettingthe viewer to think about the issues.

pon first impression, Andrew McMahon looks like a dif-ferent man from the youthful spirit he is. Bearded andweary in the eyes, the Jack’s Mannequin frontman lookslike he has lived a lifetime. In the span of 10 years, thesinger/songwriter has lived an extraordinary life on theroad and in the studio. He has been able to get a secondlease on living thanks to a life-changing experience. At27, McMahon, a survivor of leukemia, is a well-roundedmusician who, since he was a kid, has expressed his lim-itless talent to delve into the mind of the listener as well

as the aspiring youth of his generation. In between his trek across the country on a solo tour, McMahon and Jack’s Mannequin

crashed the College Avenue Gym on Oct. 21 for a concert presented by the Rutgers Uni-versity Programming Association, bringing the heat and the energy that has been left outof his most recent shows to life once more.

“The shows have been a lot quieter across the board. They have been more like a per-formance than a visceral ‘Let’s get up and get in each others business’ kind of show,” McMa-hon says. “That’s why the shows recently have been seated to give a more intimateexperience. But the overall collective conscious changes fromcity to city, which was awesome for each show we did.”

That “get up in each other’s business” that McMahonspeaks of was given a full throttle approach when he took tothe stage at the College Avenue gym. Gasping for air, the crowdin attendance engulfed McMahon’s every word and movementas he ran head-first through a set encompassing fan favoritesfrom the band’s first release Everything in Transit (“DarkBlue,” “Rescued,” “Holiday From Real”) as well as tracks fromthe band’s most recent effort, 2008’s The Glass Passenger. Whilethe band’s touring schedule in the past few years has been veryscatterbrained, the change of pace in the scheduling and vari-ety in the shows’ format makes for fresh experiences each time.

“They are just different experiences, and touring as muchas I do, you get bored so you switch up the kind of shows,” he says. “I keep myself fromburning out by changing the format up. When we toured with the Fray this summer I waslike, ‘I want to go back.’ So that’s why we do these college shows, and it’s great for thecollege crowds.”

The majority of his recent touring has been in preparation for the release of a new doc-umentary McMahon filmed chronicling his battle with leukemia in 2005, titled Dear Jack.However, the actual project didn’t start out as what the finished product became.

“I didn’t intend for it to be that way. I had already been documenting my everyday lifewhile making the album and then I got sick and the filming took on a whole new mean-ing,” he says. “I think I decided to do this documentary because what I filmed was very hon-est because it’s not just me, it’s my family, my friends, and it can be a very vulnerableexperience to watch, but it says something about people who go through the same process.”

While McMahon and company made for a great show running purely on energy, thesomber touches of certain songs brought the show down to reality. It was during the per-

formances of Glass Passenger tracks like the “The Resolution,” “Swim” and “Crashing” thatRutgers students in attendance once again peeked into McMahon’s personal life. Thealbum, which reached an impressive No. 8 its opening week on the Billboard charts, is apersonal and in-depth view of McMahon’s life post recovery. While the documentary is thesinger’s life in the moment of the discovery of his illness and the eventual treatment, thesongs on Passenger present a liberating reality from what he has gone through and what hewants the fans to see about him now.

“It’s a transitional thing really. The album was really about getting through the after-math,” he says. “When you are in the care of others, they can help you get through thephysical aspect, but you are not prepared for what comes afterwards, and that is what thealbum was really about.”

Through it all, McMahon strives for some of the vivid storytelling songwriters likeBob Dylan, Tom Petty and Ben Folds create — an almost vivid representation of life toldon simple everyday terms where the image is related back to the listener and the expe-riences are almost universally understood as something seen and lived in our youth andeventually in our adult hood. He never once shies away from relating to the fans and hislife is simple and genuine even on a music sheet, something that has never changed inhis songwriting through the years.

“My process has more or less stayed the same. I mean theart changes, but since I started when I was 9, it has been thesame for years,” he says. “But as you get older, there are moretools and things to aid in the process. There is that alchemythat is always saying ‘OK, let’s sit down and do something.’Thematically, it’s elements of autobiography and some of it isstory telling.

The show came to a close after a blinding rendition of TomPetty’s “American Girl,” with McMahon and company exitingthe stage promising to see everyone again in the future. As hissolo tour slowly begins to wind down, McMahon is ready tohead back to the West Coast as the bitter fall frost settles in onthe country. With the change in weather in mind, he says hehas no immediate plans and that’s how he wants it to be.

“My goal is to get to a place where I am making records and touring frequently, whichis where I kind of am now, but I don’t project beyond that,” he says. “I don’t think we willever stop touring because it’s so engrained in me. I love being home but being on the roadis what I do; but we change it up because I can’t see a year where I’m not on the road insome form.

While McMahon contends that he will take a little more time off than usual from theroad in 2010, he will never give up his passion for writing music. With tentative plans to re-turn home in November for a much-needed break, he plans to write some new materialwith the intent to enter the studio sometime in 2011. As for other options outside of music,McMahon jokes about the idea of an alternate career.

“I could become a yoga instructor, that is one thing I do when I’m home,” he laughs. “Buthonestly I can’t see another option in my life. When I’m home, I just normally eat good foodwith my wife and see my friends, but at this moment I think music is my purpose and I willexperiment in that format for as long as I can.”

the resolution ofANDREWMCMAHON

BY JASON STIVES • MUSIC EDITOR

“When you are in the care ofothers, they can help you getthrough the physical aspect, butyou are not prepared for whatcomes afterwards,and that is whatthe album was really about.”

CONCERT PHOTOS BY ANGELICA BONUS • INTERVIEW PHOTO BY JOVELLE TOMAYO

While Andrew McMahon’s time in Jack’s Mannequin has been a productive and critically acclaimedperiod, he is never one to shy away from discussing his time before Jack’s, in particular as the front manfor the piano rock fused band Something Corporate. For seven years, Something Corporate was one ofthe premiere alt rock acts to emanate from Orange County, Calif., delivering to sell out crowds and a largefan base that carried over into McMahon’s time in Jack’s Mannequin. Comparing the two bands is likecomparing two different lives for McMahon but both very gratifying to say the least.

“Jack’s is a little more of a self actualized thing—it’s headspace. Where as Something Corporate wasblistering and intense experience and everything else all at once,” he says. “That experience was a realtrip. Just seeing the road and the business for the first time with some great friends and band matesmade for a lot of great firsts.”

The early success Andrew received with Something Corporate was quite a journey and one that madethe band stand out amongst a changing music industry. The band’s highest charting release, 2003’sNorth, reaching at an impressive #32 amongst a myriad of media coverage that saw the band make ap-pearances on The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn and Jimmy Kimmel Live. The rush of the band’s risecoupled with four impressive studio releases all came with the eventual lessons he would use in Jackson how to handle the music industry.

“I think that also came out of being a teenager in high school and then signed, it was tricky but withJacks it was taking all those lessons, things that were done well things that weren’t and things we moresustained when we did Jack’s. Taking from Something Corporate and applying it to Jack’s.”

Outside of a surprise appearance on the main stage at the Bamboozle Left in 2006, Something Corpo-rate has remained on hiatus since Jack’s Mannequin’s formation, with fans clamoring for a possible re-union. However, McMahon isn’t shy about addressing reunion rumors even if those hopes are uncertain.

“Concrete would be the wrong thing to say so that’s why I haven’t come out and said it,” he says.“Conversations exist and have been, and I think we are closer to the idea of maybe doing some shows.But until everything is laid out I’m not going to confirm anything, and when we know, you will know.”

speaking about...Something Corporate

MUSIC EDITOR JASON STIVES WITH FRONTMAN ANDREW MCMAHON

ANDREW MCMAHON

BASSIST JONATHAN “DR. J” SULLIVAN

GUITARIST BOBBY "RAW" ANDERSON

COURTESY OF RHAPSODY.COM

BY ROSANNA VOLISSTAFF WRITER

They say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery,but what about when it comes to fashion? “To me, it’sthe greatest compliment. Even when I see a copy,something that’s inspired by something I’ve done, it’sa rewarding feeling,” said fashion legend Marc Jacobsin an interview with Teen Vogue.

As college students, not many of us have the cashto spend on a $1,000 Marc Jacobs bag. Luckily forus, we have stores like H&M, where an inspiredpiece can easily be found. Despite the thrill a shop-per gets when she discovers a skirt comparable to aPrada at Target for a quarter of the price, not all de-signers consider it flattering when these chains ripoff their hard work. In fact, most hate it when mag-azines draw attention to knock-offs in features thatshowcase high-end items next to cheaper pieces thatare strikingly similar.

The fashion-forward force that is Forever 21 hasrun into trouble with the law with almost 13 lawsuitsa year according to Cocoperez.com. Designers suchas Diane Von Furstenberg, Anna Sui and Gwen Ste-fani are outraged by the store’s blatant imitation oftheir designs. Forever 21’s most recent trouble hasbeen with Trovata, a California-based companywhose laid-back designs are praised in the industry.The company claimed back in 2007 that the store“willfully and intentionally copied its designs onseven garments,” and also accused

October 22, 2009Fashion • TVPage 6 • Inside Beat

BY TOM WRIGHT-PIERSANTITV EDITOR

A man takes a stage and spews racism, sexism andhomophobia, as an enormous, raucous audiencehoots and hollers at his every word.

Contrary to what you might be thinking, this isn’ta description of a recent meeting of the Ku Klux Klan.It is the scene any time “comedian” Jeff Dunhamtakes the stage.

Dunham’s ventriloquist dummies — that’s right,he’s a ventriloquist — have earned him a large anddevoted fan base. Now his upsettingly popular act hasbeen turned into a TV show where he and his pup-pets travel off the stage and into the real world, in-teracting with actual people.

Audiences across the nation squeal with delightwhen, for example, Achmed the Dead Terroristshouts his catch phrase: “I kill you!” And that’sabout as deep as his material gets. His skeletonMuslim makes jokes demeaning Middle Easternculture; cranky old man Walter hates blacks andgay people; the redneck Bubba J drinks beer andhates everyone.

And all the while, Dunham stands next to thesecharacters, speaking the vile words without movinghis lips and pretending to be shocked. He’s a coward.He’s a mass-appeal racist who profits off the fears ofwhite, God and minority-fearing Americans whileusing some pieces of felt and a few puzzled looks todistance himself from his own hate speech.

On the show’s first episode, a therapist admits thathe is gay to the puppet Walter, and the audiencegroans and shrieks, because they know what’s com-ing next: Intolerance!

The Jeff Dunham ShowComedy Central, Thursdays 9 p.m. | F

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whichone iswhich?

STEVE MADDENMCQUEEN

Fashion Of Film

GREASE Sexy, tight and totally“electrifyin’!” The iconicleather jacket has provento be a timeless staplesince Olivia Newton Johnrocked it in the classic1978 film.

PRETTY IN PINK

Start looking like it’s 1986with oversized blazers, oldschool suspenders andfunky accessories.

Some of the greatest movies of all time have thepotential to inspire an entire wardrobe — from

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THE EDGE OF LOVE

Bring back the old and make it new again by pairing 1940sinspired floral blouses and chunky cardigans with baggyboots and pleated skirts.

LEATHER PANTS: $36-TOPSHOP; BELT: $50-TOPSHOP; TOP: $17.80-FOREVER 21; HEELS:$90- JESSICA SIMP-SON; LEATHER COAT:$40- FOREVER 21

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Meanwhile, Achmed takes the stage at a comedyclub and makes jokes about having sex with goatsand selling his wife. His impression of PresidentBarack Obama consists of him saying, “I am not aMuslim, dawg.” Again, the audience gasps for air be-tween uproarious belly laughs.

Next we see Bubba J at a shooting range. He restson Dunham’s arm as he stands behind a black manshooting a gun and asks, “Are you practicing to getdrugs?” (The man’s ears are conveniently plugged.)Then Bubba meets a man who shares his love ofguns, and we’re treated to a romantic montage —which is funny, because Bubba hates gay people.

And in the rare instances where Dunham’s cre-ations aren’t spewing bigotry, the jokes just fall flat.A segment where the hairy purple puppet Peanutmeets Brooke Hogan lasts three dreadful, humorlessminutes, but it feels like an eternity. It’s almost as ifDunham is physically incapable of writing jokes for asituation in which some group isn’t being derided.

The audience is at fault here, too. They aren’t laugh-ing because they think it’s absurd that someone wouldsay such hateful things in this day and age. They’re notlaughing at the puppets. They’re laughing with the pup-pets. They find him funny because he voices the un-derlying fears they all feel in a nation that’s slippingfrom their grasp. Jeff Dunham is the FOX News of com-edy; he provides a haven where the elite can mock andderide a culture shifting toward equality and harmony.

Comedy Central should be ashamed of them-selves for airing this filth, as should audiences for tun-ing in (unsurprisingly, the premiere’s 5.3 millionviewers was a record-high for the network). But isfame and fortune worth it if you get there by propa-gating fear and hatred?

Forever 21 of “trade dress infringement.” This claimmeans that the look of a certain item reminds con-sumers of a particular brand. Forever 21 made$529,000 in sales from the copied garments. Aftertwo years of litigation, the two companies finallycame to a settlement.

Forever 21 isn’t the only brand that has had prob-lems with infringement. Famous companies like Tar-get and Steve Madden have recently endured thewrath of infuriated designers who feel as if they havebeen swindled of their money from the sales of theseproducts. According to CNNmoney.com, handbagmanufacturer Coach is seeking $1 million from Tar-get for alleged trademark infringement, claiming thatthe discounter sold a counterfeit Coach bag in at leastone of its stores. The bag carried the signature “C”logo of a genuine Coach bag, and copied other fea-tures such as the “Coach” tag. Target responded bysaying they believed the bag was a genuine Coachproduct. In 2006, the two companies settled out ofcourt for a different handbag.

Since there is no copyright law as of yet for fash-ion, as mad as these designers get, there really isn’tmuch they can do. The best a designer trying to ap-pease the thrifty masses can do is create a secondarycheaper line like Vera Wang for Kohl’s or IsaacMizrahi for Target. For now, retailers will continuebragging about the $400 dress they carry that looksjust like the one Angelina Jolie wore for three timesthe price, giving fashion lovers everywhere the abil-ity to look fabulous at any price.

BY MICHAEL MALVASIO • FASHION EDITOR

October 22, 2009 Music Inside Beat • Page 7

BY AMY ROWESTAFF WRITER

Bradford Coxsuccessfully deliv-ers an extro-

verted shoegaze masterpiece withthe release of his solo project,Atlas Sound’s sophomore album,Logos. The Deerhunter frontmanhas stated in interviews prior to itsrelease that the album is “notabout me,” a clear departure fromhis first album that featured auto-biographical lyrics.

Logos features other notedartists lending their vocals to twoof the album’s most notable tracks.Noah Lennox, a.k.a Panda Bearfrom Animal Collective, accompa-nies Cox in the song “Walkabout,”a song that contains a funky retrokeyboard sample playing through-out its entirety. The track is themost poppy song on the albumand is quite accessible.

Stereolab vocalist LaetitiaSadier wrote and sings the

BY MARC

MANCESTAFF WRITER

There is oneword that the

Georgia-based pop rock groupCartel’s newest album Cyclesscreams, and that’s “comeback.”

“Let me reintroduce myself /As a man with a cause” leadsinger Will Pugh sings in theopening lyrics of the album.These words foreshadow whatis to come for the next 11tracks, which are infectiousmelodies and sing-a-longs simi-lar to the sound they had ontheir first album, Chroma. Theband seems to acknowledge thefact that their last ef fort, 2007’sCartel, was a disappointment,and that they are back on theright track.

And it’s true — Cycles is theexact progression Cartel shouldhave taken from Chroma. Right

BY ARIYEH

CARNISTAFF WRITER

Bret McKenzieand Jemaine

Clement, the geniuses behindmusical comedy act Flight of theConchords, struggled for yearsbefore breaking out with a hittelevision series in 2007. Theduo has been at wo--rk eversince, releasing a six-song EP,The Distant Future, and a self-ti-tled full-length album followingseason one.

Season two’s set list, I Told YouI Was Freaky, features 13 well-pro-duced, hilarious new songs. Al-though a few jokes on the album

BY STACY DOUEKASSISTANT EDITOR

The ultimate disappearing act and out-standing shape-shifters, The Red Krayolaare not musicians, they are magicians.Emerging out of Texas’ University of St.Thomas, singer/guitarist and visual artistMayo Thompson, along with drummerFrederick Barthelme (brother of novelistDonald Barthelme) and Steve Cunning-ham proved they were ahead of a plethoraof eras and genres that would surface inthe time to come.

Avant-garde to the core, they epito-mized the prevalent topic of the ’60s: ex-perimentation. Shortly after signing withInternational Artists the band released thepsychedelic Parable of Arable Land in 1967,an album described by Thompson as a“free-form freak-out.” The abstract lyricswed to minimalist melodies revealed andemphasized their love of dissonant noise.The Red Krayola delved into a myriad ofmusical styles, including Tex-Mex, pop,blues, psychedelic rock, folk and country,but they always engrain a signature of ca-cophony that never lets the listener forgetexactly whose music they are listening to.

Harping on this attachment to atonalseverity, The Red Krayola produces theirsophomore album Coconut Hotel — onlythe album never saw the light of day until

Cycles | B+

Atlas Sound

Coconut Hotel by The Red KrayolaVintage Vital

Flight of the ConchordsI Told You I Was Freaky | B+

Logo | A-

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COU

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YSPACE.COM

/ATLASSOU

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COURTESY OF SUBPOP

1995 due to its lack of commercial appeal.Somehow the band has managed toweave in out of various decades with var-ious albums, but the ghost of CoconutHotel lurked in the background of theirsporadic career.

The record boasts a total of 44 tracks,but its length is deflated by the 35 tracksthat only last a few seconds, all aptly titled“One-Second Pieces.” The remaining 12tracks diverge in terms of meaning. Songssuch as “Free Guitar,” “Vocal” and “OrganBuildup,” seem truly literal, while, con-trastingly, “Water Pour” and “Boards” areexcessively abstract and metaphorical; asif Jackson Pollack and Willem de Kooningwere making music instead of paintings.This is the band that was paid $10 to stopperforming at Berkeley. This is the bandthat made The Velvet Underground lookmainstream. This is the band whose sanityyou certainly doubt.

Although most, if not all, of CoconutHotel may seem like it has been ripped-offof GarageBand’s samples, the productiontiming certifies its originality and bril-liance. Whether or not you remember TheRed Krayola past this point, traces of theseartists and Coconut Hotel will undoubtedlyappear and re-appear in various locationsand eras, trying to remind you that con-formity is for the weak and creative controlis paramount.

lyrics of “Quick Canal,” a songthat is brilliant even without herlyrics. Alone, “Quick Canal”floats along for nearly nine min-utes of Cox’s distor ted drumsand bass groove, paving the wayfor a delicious shoegaze-y fewminutes reminiscent of MyBloody Valentine’s “Loveless.”

“Shelia” is one of the album’scatchiest tracks. It has an ap-parent ’60s pop influence, evi-dent with the sappy lyrics“Shelia / you’ll be my wife /you’ll share my life / ’Cause noone wants to die alone.” How-ever, it has a bit of a dark edgevia Cox’s croon as he sings,“When we die we’ll bury our-selves / we’ll die alone together.”

All of the songs on the albumare intriguing and worth a listen,for they are quite cohesive. Thisalbum commands much admira-tion for Cox. He plays every in-strument, remixes and shapeseach sound, and brings it all to-gether for a very solid album.

from the start, they bust out theexplosive choruses that hook onquickly, making you learn thewords and sing along after a listenor two. And Pugh’s shining vocalsare the ones to blame for thecatchiness in his lyrics. With theenergy and emotion he puts insongs like “The Perfect Mistake”or “Typical,” his voice sets himapart from the other pop rock actsout there. And that’s what madeCartel who they were on Chroma.

Though it is a huge comebackfrom their self-titled album, Cy-cles is no Chroma Part 2. Theirmusic has matured a little, butsometimes the lyrics sound tiredand recycled. And toward themiddle of the album, there aresome tracks that seem like filler,but it quickly picks up the pace.At the end the album, Pughstates, “But I’ve done my best anundecided heart makes such amess.” Yes, they have done theirbest, and clearly show they puttheir all into Cycles.

relate to series plot lines, eachsong will keep first-time listenerscracking up all the way through.

“Hurt Feelings,” begins thealbum with Bret and Jemaine ex-plaining that, “Some people saythat rappers don’t have feelings /we have feelings / some peoplesay that we are not rappers /we’re rappers.”

Bret and Jemaine navigatethrough genre and style, keepingtheir musical satire exciting, whilerap and hip-hop provide their maininfluence. “Sugalumps,” is a clearplay on “My Humps” (Black EyedPeas) and “We’re Both in LoveWith A Sexy Lady,” contributes acomical take on R&B.

“You Don’t Have to Be a Prosti-tute,” sets a reggae/island vibe as

Bret tries to convince Jemaine toquit his night job, and Jemainelists the all the crazy ways he hasbeen dumped in the super-catchy“Carol Brown” (who took a “busout of town.”)

“Fashion Is Danger,” show-cases Bowie-esque vocals and asynth line straight from the ’80s,as the duo spits out fashion clichésas fast as the disco inspired beatcan carry them.

If you have already seen theshow, the album provides you witha catalogue of the songs from sea-son two, but with increased pro-duction and value. If you haven’t,the album will definitely convertyou into a Flight-head. Either way,the album will beg you to play itfor your friends.

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