WSN031413

SINCERITY

THE

ARTSISSUE

WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWSVOL. 41 – NO. 25 | THURSDAY, MARCH 14, 2013

PRESENTS

2 WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS | THURSDAY, MARCH 14, 2013 | NYUNEWS.COM

LETTER FROMTHE EDITOR

When I was a k id , I loved the Harry Potter books . This i sn ’ t exact ly a mind-blowing revelat ion, as that was an opinion shared by most of my peers . However, my middle school se l f was so ant i -mainstream that I fe l t the need to express my adorat ion of the J .K . Row-l ing ser ies in a way that was d i fferent f rom that of my c lassmates . Hence , I had my dad order the or ig i -nal Br i t i sh vers ions f rom Amazon U.K . for me to read .

At t h e t i m e , w o r d s l i k e m a i n s t r e a m , i n d i e a n d h i p s t e r d i d n ’ t m e a n a n y t h i n g t o m e — I s i m p l y w a n t e d t o b e d i f f e r e n t . T h e n e e d t o f e e l d i f f e r e n t i s j u s t a s n a t u r a l a s t h e n e e d t o f i t i n , b u t j u s t l i k e a n y o t h e r i m p u l s e , i t c a n b e d a n g e r o u s i f l e f t u n -c h e c k e d . Yo u c a n f a l l d o w n t h e r a b b i t h o l e o f i r o n y a n d c y n i c i s m , a n d e v e n t u a l l y, y o u r o p i n i o n s w o n ’ t r e a l l y b e y o u r s a t a l l .

T h i s p h e n o m e n o n h a s h e l p e d f o r m t h e c l o u d o f i n s i n c e r i t y t h a t h o v e r s o v e r t o d a y ’ s a r t s s c e n e . B a n d s , f i l m s a n d t e l e v i s i o n s h o w s a r e d e e m e d u n -c o o l , a n d t h u s u n w o r t h y, b e f o r e y o u c a n s a y “A r c a d e F i r e .” I o f t e n f i n d m y s e l f h a v i n g t o s a y t h i n g s l i k e “ Yo u k n o w, I s i n c e r e l y l i k e F o u n t a i n s o f Wa y n e . S e -r i o u s l y, l i s t e n t o ‘ We l c o m e I n t e r s t a t e M a n a g e r s . ’ ”

S i n c e r i t y i s w h a t t h i s i s s u e i s a l l a b o u t . I n t h e s e p a g e s , t h e W S N A r t s d e s k s c r o u n g e d t h e m u s i c , f i l m , t e l e v i s i o n a n d t h e a t e r s c e n e s t o c e l e b r a t e t h e s i n c e r e a n d c a l l o u t t h e i n s i n c e r e . We w a n t t o s h o w h o w e v e n a t w o - h o u r v i d e o g a m e c a n b e o n e o f t h e m o s t t r a n s c e n d e n t a l l i f e e x p e r i e n c e s y o u w i l l e v e r c o m e a c r o s s . Ab o v e a l l , w e w a n t t o s h o w t h a t w e h a v e f e e l i n g s f o r a r e a s o n , a n d i t w o u l d b e a w a s t e t r y i n g n o t t o c a r e .

JOSHUA JOHNSONARTS EDITOR

NYUNEWS.COM | THURSDAY, MARCH 14, 2013 | WASHINGTON SQUARE NEWS 3

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FILM 4

ENTERTAINMENT 6

GAMES 8

MUSIC 10THEATER 12


FILMRENTALS BRING

VIEWERS TOGETHERINTERNET REPLACES OUTDATED STORES

VS.

Is there anything sadder than a video store in 2013? It may be hard to believe, but several of them still exist. Those feeling nostalgic can consult Google for a (minia-ture) list of locations in New York, including Alan’s Alley Video in Chelsea and Mr. Vi-deo III in Brooklyn. The ques-tion arises of why anyone would bother seeking out a video store in an age of Netf-lix, but the unfortunate real-ity is renting a video offers an experience that stream-ing never can — the experi-ence of actually enjoying a movie with friends.

Of course, Netflix can be enjoyed among friends, as long as your group is willing to cramp around a computer screen for two hours and your computer has decent speakers, or else listening to the movie will be a chore. Alternatively, you can hook Netflix up to

your television, except not all televisions are compat-ible with Netflix — not to mention the fact that Netf-lix has only a limited range of offerings.

If we want to enjoy mov-ies, we have to do it Netf-lix’s way, and Netflix is less about the group experience and more about hiding away in a dark room as we indulge ourselves in their offerings of critically-reviled horror films and romantic comedies. Gone are the days of personal recommendations, running through the racks and mak-ing it an actual event to go to the video store. The remain-ing stores are a glimmer of what true movie fans have always known — all movies are better with a friend.

– JEREMY GROSSMAN

Those who lament the disappearance of the video rental store tend to see it as the end of social film view-ing, but such claims wither under the slightest scrutiny. When multiple game con-soles permit Netflix Instant to stream directly to one’s television, when both rentals and streaming are available in extraordinary abundance over the Internet, when the cables necessary to link up a laptop to a plasma screen television have become absurdly cheap and easy to use, one cannot plausibly claim that the op-portunity to view movies and television programs commu-nally has vanished.

Some complain about the lack of selection on a service like Netflix Instant. An apho-rism concerning glass houses springs to mind, for video stores are inherently limited by being physical spaces into which only so many movies may be crammed at a time. Compare this to, say, Ama-

zon’s streaming rental ser-vice, in which very nearly any film in Amazon’s catalogue can be rented for instant on-line streaming. Or consider the partnership between Hulu Plus and the Criterion Collection, which allows members with a paid sub-scription to access an enor-mous archive of the greatest foreign and arthouse films in history. It would be amus-ing to watch a video store at-tempt a similar feat.

Rental stores were born out of the VHS revolution, but like VHS they have been thoroughly outclassed. Some may have happy memories associated with video stores, but there are more efficient ways of wallowing in nos-talgia. Technology and infra-structure improve, and in-venting a bygone golden age will do nothing but blind us to the fact that we are living in one right now.

– STEFAN MELNYK

‘42’Only some trailers are ca-

pable of giving a viewer chills, and “42’s” manages to do just that. The upcoming adaptation of the legendary Jackie Robin-son story is reminiscent of the sort of classic sports film that makes the heart pound even if everyone knows who wins the game at the end of the day.

“42” follows Robinson’s his-toric career with the Brooklyn Dodgers. As a black man in a white-dominated league, Rob-inson battles racism and a na-tion that refuses to change. He stares down adversity with his undeniable talent and the help of his unapologetic manager Branch Rickey.

Though it might have been tempting to boost ticket sales by having a star play the lead, the people behind “42” cast little-known actor Chadwick Boseman to play Robinson in-stead, placing their confidence in the story’s inspiring message

and heartfelt realism. Harrison Ford plays manager Branch Rickey, who mentored Rob-inson as he faced antagonism from the league, baseball fans and even his own teammates.

“42” will be about much more than baseball. Robin-son’s story is a tale of the strength, perseverance and bravery of a man who never let anybody judge him by the color of his skin. It is the story of a man who wanted to play ball but inadvertently changed the world in the process. With-out special effects or A-list ac-tors, “42” hopes to present a captivating tale that reminds us all of what it takes to alter history for the better.

– BOB TEOH

i want a player who's got the guts not to fight back."" ""


we were infinite."" ""

While watching “The Perks of Being a Wallflo-wer,” it is easy to laugh at the characters because of the things they say. “I don’t write poetry, po-etry writes me,” one says, while others gripe over the difficulty of finding “good music.” Some of the film’s most memorable lines, taken straight out of the book, are “I feel infinite” and “We accept the love we think we deserve.”

We can laugh because these characters are the types of people who now would be referred to as hip-sters. Regardless, Stephen Chbosky — author of the original 1999 novel and the screenwriter/director of the film — ignores such assumptions. He poignantly captures the complexity of growing up and facing a new and challenging world outside of one’s comfort zone. The film arrives at a perfect time, as many who grew up with the original novel are now graduat-ing from college and thinking about what their fu-tures hold. The terrific cast includes Logan Lerman, Ezra Miller and “Harry Potter” star Emma Watson in a role so unlike Hermione she truly reminds us of what it means to leave our childhoods behind.

Through his protagonist Charlie, Chbosky instills the message that growing up is terrifying, but the lit-tle moments — like driving down the highway with our best friends, blasting our favorite song — mean everything. No matter how scared we are of the fu-ture, Charlie reminds us, “You are alive,” and when he says it, there’s nothing insincere about it.

– BETHANY MCHUGH

of beingperks

awallflower’

‘the

‘beasts ofthe southern wild’

“Beasts of the Southern Wild” is one of the most emotion-ally honest on-screen tales in recent years. “Beasts” presents an unapologetic look at the life of 6-year-old Hushpuppy (Quvenzhané Wallis), an unas-suming heroine living in the Louisiana bayou. The film docu-ments Hushpuppy’s internal hardships — her complex re-lationship with her ailing and pugnacious father, Wink, and her struggle to cope with barely any recollection of her mother.

Externally, Hushpuppy must deal with the destruction of her home, the Bathtub, after a dev-astating storm.

Wallis’ portrayal is complet-ely unpretentious and sincere to a fault. Hushpuppy’s ongo-ing narration captures the hon-esty of the film. The heroine manages to make unthinkably profound statements for her young self, but through either her grave predicament or un-developed English, they are played off as typical.

Although Hushpuppy must deal with matters far beyond the scope of childhood normal-cy, there is an awareness that she is still very much a child. The film masterfully instills this fact — a child-like inno-cence permeates the bleak ex-terior of the plot, somehow sus-pending the painful element of reality. It seems there are few things more sincere than the perceptions of a child.

– ISABEL JONES

i'm the man!"" ""

‘silverlinings

“Silver Linings Playbook” is re-garded as David O. Russell’s most pers-onal film. With its blend of comedy, drama, romance, football and dance, the Best Picture-nomi-nated film continues to touch audi-ences across the world.

Pat Solitano (Bradley Cooper) suf-fers from bipolar disorder and is released from a mental hospital fol-lowing an “incident.” He returns to Philadelphia and his obsessive-com-pulsive, gambling addict, Eagles-obsessed father, Pat senior (Robert De Niro). His mother Dolores (Jacki Weaver) tries her best to keep the family from falling apart. Wrong-fully convinced his broken marriage will last and improve, Pat struggles to get back on his feet. It is not un-til he meets Tiffany (Jennifer Law-rence, who won an Academy Award for the role), an equally troubled soul consumed by depression after

her husband’s death, that Pat is able to confront his issues by help-ing Tiffany with her own.

“Silver Linings Playbook” is a film to which we can all relate. The Soli-tanos remind us of our neighbors, friends and even our own families. Russell’s film is not about people working to sneak hostages out of Iran or pass a monumental amend-ment. It is about people who want to be happy and need each other to do that. The film teaches us about coping and finding ways through the toughest times in our lives. We are met with tragedies that force us to question the morality of our world, and “Silver Linings Play-book” is one kind of answer.

– JORDAN AXELROD

playbook’


ENTERTAINMENT

For most shows, a scene in which a woman urinates on train tracks while childishly crying on the tele-phone with her parents could be considered outlandish, but for HBO’s “Girls,” this scene is just another day in the life of Hannah Horvath.

Lena Dunham’s “Girls” has rec-eived a barrage of angry tweets, lambasting scenes like this one. The rage surrounding the series’ more over-the-top moments isn’t unmer-ited. Maybe a well-to-do Brooklynite would never do cocaine, and friends don’t let friends get married on a whim. Hannah could probably never fall off the grid for a whole weekend while she has an affair with a mar-ried man, let alone one played by Patrick Wilson.

While any of these events would never occur in most people’s lives, they all make sense within the uni-verse of “Girls.” That is why some-thing so implausible — something like calling 911 on an ex-boyfriend just to see what will happen — can become so honest when placed in Dunhams’s hands.

Dunham’s performance makes us believe that Hannah would act so naively as to experience any of these situations. With many tears and a number of comical, absurd situations, Hannah could have been a manic, hipster mess of a character. But Dunham’s painfully real, Pabst Blue Ribbon-drenched world makes the loyal fans of “Girls” willing to believe in a character they can’t fu-lly support. After all, one man’s real-ism is another woman’s tragicomic rendition of life.

– ALEX GREENBERGER

‘Girls’:down to earth

i'm an individual and i feel how i feel

when i feel it.

"" ""‘Girls’:two-faced

“Girls,” “Girls,” “Girls” — that’s all anyone seems to be talking about lately. Some may say Hannah Horvath is a relatable protagonist because she encourages viewers to chase after their dreams. However, if there’s anything Lena Dunham’s show portrays correc-tly, it is the insincerity of its characters and their friendships.

The series’ four main characters deal with their own problems, which range from relationship issues to es-tablishing a writing career to trying to figure out one’s place in the world. Whenever one of the girls faces a per-sonal dilemma, she figures the best

thing to do is talk to a friend about it because, after all, that is what friends are for.

It takes a lot of courage to talk to friends about problems, but the ef-fort counts for little when it comes to the characters on “Girls.” Instead of being faithful to one another, the characters show their complete lack of concern for their friends’ troubles, explicitly telling them, “I have other important things to worry about oth-er than your problems.”

If “Girls” illustrates anything about our lives, it is that our friends are not as sincere as we thought they were.

Why have friends if they are unwill-ing to give us valuable time for per-sonal conversations? The solution is simple — we must constantly go through this cycle because, sooner or later, we will experience a shift in per-spective and finally grow up, a process that will make us think twice about the people we allow in our lives.

– JUNIOR GONZALES


Today’s critically acclaimed dramas are largely devoid of sincerity. AMC’s “Mad Men” and Showtime’s “Homeland” have capti-vated audiences worldwide, though uncon-ventionally. They succeed on the strength of their deception rather than their morality. We enjoy partaking in the game of cat-and-mouse they set up for us.

After two seasons of Showtime’s “Home-land,” we still cannot be certain that Sgt. Nicholas Brody is worthy of our trust. The “us against the world” effect of the season two finale leads us to believe Brody was not responsible for the death of over 200 people at Vice President Walden’s memorial ser-vice. But in a show as turbulent as “Home-land,” do we dare blindly believe?

Can we ever trust our protagonists? Do we believe in “Mad Men’s” Don Draper — or is it Dick Whitman? The true identity of the main character is withheld for much of the first sea-son. But in the sleazy Manhattan advertising scene of the 1960s, this is hardly the only in-discretion. Not unlike Brody on “Homeland,” the ad men of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce live double lives. They are adulterers and al-coholics, who return home to their attention-starved children and wives who are in denial, without a suspicion of doubt.

The honest moments that organically arise from duplicity are what keep us tun-ing in each week. The shock of watching Carrie repeatedly confess her love for Br-ody, or the moment you realize Don is just a man haunted by the past, make these dra-mas must-see programming.

– ISABEL JONES

dramasnewplay off distrust

“Enlightened” is that show that comes on after “Girls” — and in many ways, it’s a counterpart to Lena Dunham’s show that’s equally sincere.

Starring Laura Dern and cre-ated, directed and written by Mike White, “Enlightened” delivers sincere, humorous, heartbreaking and brutally honest episodes every week and does so without a hint of the cynicism that seems to be dominating mainstream televi-sion programming.

“Enlightened” follows Amy Jellicoe (Dern), an optimistic and intense woman who re-turns to work for her old com-pany after a mental breakdown landed her in rehab. She wants nothing more than to do good in the world, help the environ-ment and spread positive ene-rgy, but she is constantly alien-ated by her friends, co-workers, ex-husband and even her mot-her, with whom she still lives.

Amy could so easily be a punch line or a satirical char-acter, but White’s emotional, reflective writing and Dern’s superb acting prevent us from sympathizing with those who misunderstand her character. Amy whole-heartedly believes everything she says and does, which makes it impossible to mock her, except maybe when things don’t work out the way she plans. Even then, as we are laughing, our hearts break along with Amy’s as she lets the tears flow. We may not always like Amy, but all that matters is that she stands up for what she thinks is right.

In an age when it’s cool to be mean, “Enlightened” is a show about a person with so much sin-cere passion that we can’t help but stand up and cheer her on.

–IFE OLUJOBI

‘enlightened’

“Parks and Recreation” is just about as sincere as any show on television. Co-creators Greg Daniels and Mike Schur have clearly been working to make it as genuine as possible.

Of course, this is accomplished in part through the show’s colorful col-lection of characters, each of whom has been crafted with so much heart. It is difficult not to fall in love with the infectious enthusiasm of charac-ters like Leslie Knope and Andy Dw-yer or become enamored with the goofiness of Tom Haverford and Jerry Gergich. And even behind the dead-pan seriousness of Ron Swanson and April Ludgate, there’s still a whole lot of love to be found.

While much of this season dis-plays how rich each character is, one episode in particular stands out.

In it, a bachelor party turns into a night of male bonding. The idea is simple — “Tonight, everyone gets the bachelor party they never had.” The parties are perfectly sui-ted to the specific interests of each male character on the show. Ron takes the guys to a steakhouse, Tom takes them to a new age bar and so on. It’s nice to see that, even in the midst of all the show’s important plot de-velopments, the writers are able to take time to show us just how much these characters value their friend-ships and care about one another.

– JEREMY PICK

recreation’‘parks &

When you love something, you don't threaten it ... you fight for

it.

"" ""


The main criticism against “Journey,” a Playstation Net-work game created by the indie developer thatgamecompany, is that it is not really a game. Admittedly, “Journey” does not share many of the typical qual-ities one might find in a mod-ern video game. An average play-through only takes about two hours, and the main char-acter can’t do anything other than walk and jump.

Make no mistake, “Journey” is certainly a video game. In fact, “Journey” represents the purest version of what a video game should be. Its two-hour runtime is not a disadvantage, but rath-er it eliminates all the pomp and circumstance that comes with so many of today’s games.

“Journey” gives you a simple

task: get to the peak of the mountain. You start in the des-ert, and as you move toward your ultimate goal you slide through shimmering sand dunes, trudge through snow and fly through the closest thing we may ever know as heaven on earth (sorry, West Virginia).

Every level is completely unique from the one that pre-cedes it — a nice change of pace from the usual “clear the area of baddies, then go into the next, identical area, repeat” structure. The levels themselves are also absolutely gorgeous. The artistry of the sand dunes level alone would make Michelangelo blush.

What really makes “Journey” such a pure game is that every-thing you do matters. It takes

the familiar “chosen one” trope and gives it real mean-ing. Games constantly put the fate of their world solely in the hands of the player, which has resulted in an odd kind of nar-cissism in gamers. The pressure of being the only person with the ability to save the world loses significance after being trotted out so many times, and arrogance has replaced the in-tended sense of duty.

“Journey” does not shy away from this pressure. The music, which, like the design, is utte-rly breathtaking, helps mount a sense of purpose in your ac-tions. More significantly, the game’s mechanics feed into the triumph of accomplishment, as well as the disappointment of failure. Even if you can only

use two buttons and the ana-log stick, the controls dig deep into your psyche. For example, as you slide through the sand dunes at a breakneck pace, the controller feels like a weight-less steering wheel.

Conversely, as you slog through the snow in the pen-ultimate level, you press the analog stick forward with full force and the controller weighs in your hands like a boulder. When your character falls to their knees, you genuinely feel like you’ve failed the deity that has been guiding you.

Ultimately, “Journey’s” main appeal is its sincerity, which is why it has served as this is-sue’s inspiration. The game guides you through stages of real emotion that range from

confidence to fright and from desolation to euphoria. It gives you a clear objective, and you feel an obligation to reach that objective. You don’t just want to beat the game — you want to succeed for the sake of the mysterious force that has commanded you for this life-affirming quest.

At its core, “Journey” repre-sents everything a true game should be: a sense of accom-plishment in a world beyond one’s means. Save the princess, catch ’em all, get to the moun-tain. All in a day’s work.

– JOSH JOHNSON

GAMES

By JOSH JOHNSON

“Journey” may be the most sincere game re-leased this past year, but the video game indus-try has been cranking out genuinely affecting games for awhile. Here are a few games from a variety of generations and platforms.

“SPEC OPS: THE LINE”“Spec Ops” will make

you think about the people you’ve virtually killed and why you have failed at a given mis-sion. It is not necessarily a great game, but any game that makes you think seriously about violence in games is worth commending.

“BATMAN: ARKHAM CITY”The hero-villain rela-

tionship is often taken for granted, but “Arkham City” really makes the point that one cannot ex-ist without the other. Bat-man and the Joker have always been complicated characters, and this game takes their relationship to a tragic place.

“MARIO KART: DOUBLE DASH!!”

Any game that can ruin friendships certainly must be able to invoke some type of genuine emotion. You may think that banana you dropped was innocent, but it can have a huge affect out-side of the Gamecube.

“POKEMON RED/BLUE”Later games in the

“Pokemon” series have gone for the money-grab, but the original “Poke-mon” games only wanted you to be the very best, like no one ever was.

sincere games ofpastthe

‘journey’ returns gaming to its roots

The term “multiplayer gaming” of-ten brings to mind images of some-one playing round after round of “Halo” or “Call of Duty.” However, the multiplayer experience of “Jour-ney” offers anything but the competi-tive nature of a first-person shooter. When players interact in the game’s world, the experience creates a con-nection, a bond with another player whose real name you never learn. By integrating one of the most unique multiplayer components of any re-cent game, “Journey” manages to evoke emotion and develop a sincere link in an unexpected way.

As you travel through the gor-geous deserts and haunting caverns of “Journey’s” world, you may come across another character identical to your own, traversing the lands on a similar trek. These other players are not computer-controlled — they are real-world players with whom you will randomly cross paths as you work to complete the same journey.

How you interact with these players is entirely up to you. While you cannot hurt one an-other, there is no obligation to in-teract or assist each other in any way. Ignoring other players is an option, but at the core of “Jour-ney’s” design is a desire to make you feel compassion as you play.

Ignoring them would cause you to miss one of the truly spectacular satisfactions the game provides.

Your genderless avatar in “Jour-ney” can only accomplish a few ac-tions — it can run, jump and chirp. The first two actions are familiar elements of any game, but the third, while initially strange, becomes one of the most fascinating tools at your disposal. Since the game forbids voice chatting with the players who come across your path, chirping is the only available means of communication.

If you decide to work alongside a fellow traveler, employing your chirp is essential to success. Because you can control the length of each cheep, falling into a rhythm and put-ting meaning behind these sounds becomes inevitable. You’ll emit a rapid succession of short chirps to call your companion’s attention. A long chirp will signal for them to follow. Patterns develop, and some-where along the way you’ll have developed a language unique to you and the other player.

And here, “Journey” accomplishes something few games attempt and even fewer achieve — it helps you construct an emotional connection with another player. The adventure forces you to adapt to a new form of communication. Putting such effort

into understanding another person forges a bond that, upon completion of your expedition, will have you yearning to yet again run through the sand with this nameless friend.

The subject matter of “Journey” and its artistic achievements further elevate the bond that develops. At the heart of this two-hour adven-ture is a narrative devoid of dialogue or defined characters. The mean-ing you derive from the gorgeous painted world in which the game places you is entirely determined by how you interpret the tale. But the overwhelming emotion that may hit some players is a surprising result from a medium most gamers con-sider to be replete with violence and adolescent tendencies.

In our daily lives, most of us seek to make connections — to not jour-ney through life alone. These bonds give meaning to what we do every day because we accomplish it all for both ourselves and the people who matter most to us. If “Journey” suc-ceeds in any way, it captures a life lived in only a few short hours. And if such a meaningful experience re-flects what matters in real life, the game reveals its true beauty in the friendships it creates.

– JONATHON DORNBUSH

multiplayer experience takes gamers on journey


“BIOSHOCK INFINITE”Set in a city in the sky during the

height of American exceptionalism, players control former Pinkerton agent Booker DeWitt on his mission to save a mysterious woman named Elizabeth. One of the game’s goals is to make players care for Elizabeth like no other virtual character before in the midst of a “BioShock” universe that is rife with social, economic and political turmoil.

“REMEMBER ME”While the amnesic protagonist is a

far too familiar trope, “Remember Me” makes the search for your memories a harrowing, gripping part of gameplay. While trying to recollect their past, players will enter the memories of oth-ers and manipulate them.

“THE LAST OF US”Another title that develops a core

relationship with another character, “The Last of Us” puts players in the role of Joel. After the spread of a deadly disease, Joel must protect a young girl named Ellie. The two form a parent-child bond during an adventure where every bullet counts and survival is a constant concern.

“BEYOND: TWO SOULS”Featuring actress Ellen Page, “Be-

yond” is a deeply personal tale that retells 15 years in the life of Jodie, who is struggling with a strange presence in her life. In addition to exploring the afterlife, this dark ti-tle seeks to challenge the narrative norms most games follow.

By JONATHON DORNBUSH

Conveying as much sincere meaning as “Jour-ney” did is no small order, and few games be-fore it accomplished that task. Still, some of this year’s gaming options aim to follow in its footsteps on the road to genuine emotion.

sincere games offuturethe


MUSICm

ackl

emor

e Seattle rapper Macklemore has been part of the indie rap scene since 2000, but he was only recently catapulted to fame by smash single “Thrift Shop.”

Macklemore’s music has been criti-cized as being too poppy, annoying or not heartfelt enough. Regardless of whether you like him, he is one of the most genuine rappers on the scene right now.

On his latest album “The Heist,” Macklemore and producer Ryan Lewis craft a pop-rap odyssey with hits and misses, but the rapper brings steady appeal with his playful openness. “Starting Over” digs deep into his 2011 relapse, while “Neon Cathedral” de-tails the artist’s struggles with alcohol abuse. Songs like these would make a fine rap album on their own, but the Seattle MC has one truly transcendent track up his sleeve: “Same Love.”

For a genre long mired by ho-mophobia, “Same Love” is a breath of fresh air. Smoothly tackling the gay marriage debate as well as his own struggles with religion and sexuality as a kid, Macklemore provides an in-sightful commentary on being gay in America.

Most importantly, Macklemore’s chal-lenge of politicians, religion and bigots doesn’t feel forced. It is not a perfect song, but it is personal, powerful and certainly a good start, while also offer-ing a refreshing counter-narrative to a still-prevalent section of rap.

“‘Same Love’ was a song that I wanted to write for a long time, but I didn’t know exactly how to address the issue,” he explained in an inter-view with the website SameSame. “I knew I wanted to write a song about gay rights and homophobia within the hip-hop community and the world.”

– PETER SLATTERY

thomyorke

Thom Yorke, frontman for Radio-head and, recently, Atoms for Peace, is incredibly sincere in that he does what he wants regardless of any criticism he might receive. In recent years, he has turned down meeting requests from Kanye West and Mi-ley Cyrus, danced in a way that can only be described as “Thom Yorke-ish” and put out an album, “In Rain-bows,” through Radiohead’s website with a pay-what-you-wish system.

Yorke is willing to do and create anything, as long as he firmly be-lieves in it. When he and Radiohead finished their six-album contract with record label EMI, they real-ized that the music business was a decaying system with waning ap-preciation for artists. Instead, they decided to record and produce their own album. Ever since Radiohead exploded onto the music scene with their first and most enduring hit, “Creep,” Yorke has remained an indie artist, eschewing any sort of

mainstream recognition offered to him despite being a multiple Gra-mmy Award-winning musician.

Yet his independence is entir-ely genuine — rather than going through a record label, he achieved a direct connection with his fans by giving them his material for free. Instead of collaborating with Kanye or Miley for their fame, he works with musicians like Flea because of their compatibility.

Yorke’s genuine spirit and attitude keep indie music alive, especially in an era that has turned the hipster lifestyle into a brand. He keeps it real where it counts, so we won’t judge him for dancing the way he does.

– PATRICK JAOJOCO

mumford& sons The popularity of Mumford

& Sons seems inexplicable in a culture that claims to cel-ebrate authenticity and origi-nality. Within several years, the band already staked their claim as the most pre-tentious of all bands to have ever garnered such acclaim. With every incoherent rant masquerading as a profound folk ballad, one comes to rec-ognize that they may well usurp the throne long occu-pied by U2.

Intellectual complexity, of course, is always desir-able in music, but Mumford & Sons are so disingenuous with their words that their

supposed complexity is sim-ply a facade. Frontman Mar-cus Mumford would have you believe that “The Cave” celebrates self-reliance as an expedient to attaining self-hood, but even a cursory examination of the lyrics demonstrates that it is the most verbose and arrogant breakup letter ever written.

In that regard, Mumford & Sons are not much different from Taylor Swift, who at least states precisely what she means and does not attempt to evade comprehension. Mum-ford & Sons, in contrast, strive to conceal their trivial-ity with an endless obscurity

that yields to scrutiny. Inauthenticity has plagued

rock music since its begin-ning and still remains per-vasive across genres in the industry today. Disingenuous artists are generally tolerable nuisances, but they become something insidious when their work claims to possess a truth and a profundity that it does not have. Among con-temporary acts, Mumford & Sons are a prime example of such inauthenticity.

– CHRISTOPHER FELDSINE


Donald Glover is like a human Swiss army knife — he’s known for being multi-talented. But it’s Glover’s skill on the microphone that really deserves attention. Glover, who raps under the moni-ker Childish Gambino, is respon-sible for creating some of the most provocative social commen-tary available today, combining an awareness of himself and society with deft skills in writing verses and producing tracks.

While most rappers tend to shy away from topics that make them look soft, nothing is off limits for Gambino, whose subjects range from his difficult childhood to his chronic depression to his noted taste in women and clothes. All are delivered with a confidence that allows him to poke fun at himself, something that few rap-pers are willing to do.

The combination of self-aggran-dizement and self-deprecation that permeates Gambino’s work reflects the conflicted feelings that most rap-pers and, for that matter, people, likely experience but are reluctant to share with others. His honesty in the hip-hop game is a refreshing change of pace after generations of artists who build themselves up with insubstantial claims of greatness and little evidence to prove it.

Gambino does have the rags-to-riches story, an unspoken prerequisite to en-tering the rap game, but his experien-ces growing up in Georgia and attend-ing NYU lend him a unique perspective on race and prejudice. As a black kid growing up in predominantly white communities, Gambino encountered many instances in which others’ ex-pectations of him differed from how

he wanted to live his life. He channels these ideas into songs like “Hold You Down,” which features brilliant com-mentary on the evolution of racism.

While Gambino gained more popularity following the release of his 2011 major label debut album “Camp,” his first mixtape, “Sick Boi,” was released in 2008. Other early efforts, like “EP” and “I AM JUST A RAPPER” parts one and two, established his creativity with words and rhythm but progressed into more introspective territory. The latter two tapes featured Gam-bino rapping over songs from bands like St. Vincent and Sleigh Bells, and they created an innovative and infectious blend of hip-hop and in-die music that perfectly represen-ted the artist.

His lyrical mastery is unparalleled in the game today, and one only need listen to the opening verse of “All That Power,” Gambino’s favorite lyrics, for proof. It’s incredible that an artist who has struggled so much with being accepted into the hip-hop community is the same one who chooses to make it more accessible to others. He broadens the genre to include various aspects of black culture that go unnoticed or are de-liberately ignored. Considering his burgeoning film career, it may be awhile before we see Glover’s alter ego make another appearance, but it’s worth waiting for the artist who opened the rap community to those who felt alienated before.

– ALEXANDRIA ETHRIDGE

i won't stop 'til they say james franco's the white donald glover.

"" "" gambinochildish

ladygaga

It’s hard to know who was more devastated by Lady Gaga’s decision to cancel her tour after a recent injury — her loyal fan base or Mother Monster herself. From the very beginning, Gaga created an image of self-love and empowerment, as demonstrated by the unforgettable meat dress she wore at the 2010 MTV Music Video Awards. With the infamous dress, Gaga attempted to make the statement that she is a human being with rights, not a piece of meat, and that she refused to be treated as such. Through her per-formances and music, Gaga pas-ses her values onto her fans.

There is no doubt in anyone’s mind that Gaga loves her fans with every ounce of her being. At the close of her jam-packed,

two-and-a-half-hour set during her Born This Way Ball Tour last year, the artist spent nearly every break between songs thanking the audience and letting them know how much they meant to her. She also used her own story of dedication and hard work to achieve fame as an inspirational anecdote to help her fans strive to achieve their own dreams. At the show’s close, Gaga pulled several audience members on-stage and sang to them, offer-ing the entire venue a reason to believe in themselves and what they can achieve.

– ALEX PASTRON

When Deap Vally’s Lindsey Troy and Julie Edwards play, they don’t just put on a show — they stage a full assault on the senses. Even though the group is only a two-piece band, with Troy on guitar and vocals and Edwards on drums, they harness the power of pure rock in a way that is truly mind-blowing.

The duo is a throwback to Led Zep-pelin that still manages to sound mod-ern and fresh, and there is certainly no one out there right now like them. As soon as they step out on stage dressed

in their glam-rock best, they exude genuine confidence and sex appeal. Ed-wards is positively feral, smashing into her drums as if they’re an ex-boyfriend, and Troy’s vocals are reminiscent of Jack White — she wails and moans in a way that commands everyone’s atten-tion. Every audience Deap Vally plays to is at the band’s mercy, which may actually be the greatest thing anyone could ask for.

– YASMINE PANAH

deapvalley

New York theatergoers faced a gimmicky season this winter. Though everyone loves the falling chandelier in “The Phantom of the Opera,” discerning audiences know that fancy tricks often serve as un-necessary distractions from the st-ory. While the disastrous Broadway preview period for “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark” proved clever stage tricks still win press attention, it also unwittingly showed that plays resort to gimmicks to com-pensate for deeper flaws.

Almost 30 years after the original Broadway debut of “The Mystery of Edwin Drood,” dismissing the beloved classic for its cheap tricks will no doubt strike loyal audience members as hopelessly snobbish. Still, the show was an early concept piece. Based on Charles Dickens’ un-finished murder-mystery novel, the script requires audience members to vote for one of 400 possible end-ings. The Roundabout Theater Com-pany’s recent revival thrills audien-ces with its absurd musical numbers and lavish set, but in 2013, “Drood” seems dated. Its overworked conceit is insufficient to carry the play.

Similarly, the Transport Group Theater Company contributed its puttering “House for Sale” to this year’s Broadway season, and the usually successful Atlantic Theater Company made a seri-

ous misstep with “The Jammer.” The Transport Group presented five actors on a stage, repetitiv-ely reciting a Jonathan Franzen essay. Each actor was assigned a color. A lighting technician ran-domly switched the stage light colors, and the actor whose color was shining recited a para-graph. Then another actor got a turn at the same paragraph. Needless to say, the theatrical production made little improve-ment on the essay.

The Atlantic Theater Company’s breach wasn’t as egregious, but one still wonders what they were thinking. “Jammer” would have been an acceptable, if juvenile, comedy if not for the inexplicable decision to have cardboard cut-

outs portray half the characters. Perhaps this gimmick was meant to comment on a long-lasting economic slump that barred the company from hiring actors?

Please, New York, give us back sophisticated, sincere theater. For-get the fancy sets and weird ideas. New Yorkers want good actors. New Yorkers want fine scripts.

But then they’ll change their mind again. New York got Patti Lu-Pone in a David Mamet play late last year. The script was ascetic, the act-ing austere. “The Anarchist” was a show without entertaining frills or silly intellectualisms. Praise aside, “The Anarchist” was plain boring. Bring on the gimmicks?

– LEORA ROSENBERG


THEATERIt’s easy even for an avid the-

atergoer to become jaded. Years of sitting through sickeningly sweet tales like “Mary Poppins” and obnoxious tourist traps like “Rock of Ages” have done a fine job of demonstrating that mu-sicals, as an art form, can be completely devoid of anything resembling real emotion.

Yet once or twice every sea-son, a show comes around that proves hope is not lost. Among the dancing newsboys and peril-ously swinging superheroes, it is still possible to find gems of sin-cerity in today’s musicals.

The original purpose of songs in a play was to convey a char-acter’s feelings and thoughts in a moment of overwhelming emotion when words alone were no longer enough. Many song-writers have given us moments of incredible joy (“I Could Have Danced All Night”), true love (“Some Enchanted Evening”) and overwhelming hopelessness (“I Miss the Mountains”).

Look at “Once,” the 2012 Tony Award-winner based on the mo-vie of the same name. Its famil-iar plot — boy meets girl, boy

falls in love with girl, boy leaves girl — is portrayed in a beauti-fully simple musical that is re-ally just a sad and bittersweet love story. And if you’re not tearing up by the end, you will find yourself in the minority.

Similarly, “The Last Five Years” began performances off-Broad-way at the Second Stage Theater on March 7. Also a love story, it tells the tale of Jamie and Cathy’s failed relationship, which Jamie tells from beginning to end and Cathy recounts in reverse. As the show ends, older Jamie leaves Cathy for the last time at the end of their relationship, while across the stage a younger Cathy sings about all the hope and promise she sees for their future. Admit it — even reading about that makes you emotional.

With shows like these it is im-possible to argue that all musi-cals are devoid of true emotion. Instead, it is shows like “Once” and “The Last Five Years” that prove just how sincere musical theater can be.

– DYLAN JARRETT

musicals

showsone-woman

Ann Richards, played by Hol-land Sherry in the show “Ann,” never understood why a woman could not do everything a man does. “After all,” she says, “Gin-ger Rogers did everything Fred Astaire did. She just did it back-wards and in high heels.”

That is an apt way to describe what Richards did as the Demo-cratic governor of Texas before George W. Bush was elected. Richards — and by extension Sherry, who embodies the role completely — is one of the most charming and disarmingly funny politicians of all time. This perfor-mance shows that Sherry is one of the better actors on the Broad-way stage.

Sherry’s enthusiasm never wa-vers over the two hours. It might seem exhausting to wholeheart-edly watch a one-woman show, since the plotline can quickly stray into the darker side of the character’s internal struggles, but “Ann” surpasses this obstacle.

Over the course of the play, Ann tells the story of her up-bringing and, when she becomes governor, the audience is given

access to her office, which dis-creetly slides out from back-stage, over the course of a day in her life. But all of our access is privileged. The acoustics of the space are set up, intention-ally or not, so that her uproari-ous keynote speech takes the audience out of New York and back into Texas, and everyone’s laughter seems to reverberate through a space very unlike a dampened Broadway theater.

Bleakness is often mistaken for sincerity, as in romantic comedies with a melancholy ending. Oftentimes this is con-sidered more realistic than Hol-lywood happy endings. But it seems easy to believe that may-be Ann really was as wonder-ful as the play would have us think. Her romance ends badly, as does her time as a function-ing alcoholic, but there is never a moment when she asks for pity or seems anything less than ecstatic to be alive, even if just on the stage doing what she loves: speaking.

– ALEXANDER TSEBELIS

gimmicks


When The Highlighter first started by, it was used merely as a home for the overflow of con-tent the WSN Arts desk was producing. A news-paper has a finite amount of space, and there just wasn’t enough room for reviews of the new Old 97’s album or weekly reviews of “Commu-nity” episodes, so the blog became a safe haven for our less-than-mainstream articles.

Eventually, The Highlighter evolved into

something greater. Through the hard work of our writers and editors, the blog began to take on the personality of the Arts desk. We installed weekly columns that commented on the themes and trends of today’s arts scene. These columns range from considering at roles that could have been to in-depth looks into a musician’s influ-ence. Check out a sample of The Highlighter be-low and visit it at wsnhighlighter.com.

By CHRISTOPHER FELDSINE

Although its aesthetic mer-its don’t necessarily justify its success, Adele’s “21” has en-thralled the popular conscious-ness like no other record since the release of Nirvana’s “Nev-ermind” in 1991. However, the similarities between Adele and Nirvana end there. Nirvana re-invented rock while restoring and augmenting its aesthetic dignity, while Adele has more or less reiterated Etta James, Dusty Springfield and The Su-premes. Impressive as her work can be, imitation is still not as compelling as sheer originality.

Fortunately for her, neither James nor Springfield are much in vogue today, a truth that makes her music seem more original than it actually is. One need only listen to her sing-ing to discern the influence of James’ variety of the blues. But the high-pop of the 1960s is also a seminal influence, and it is particularly conspicuous on her album “19,” which is filled with Spectorian orchestration.

Easily the finest song on the record, “Chasing Pavements”

recalls supreme achievements of the ’60s like “My Girl,” even though Adele is considerably more equivocal than her prede-cessors. Still, one cannot listen to the record without noticing its sublime crescendos, which seem to swell toward a resolution that Adele never embraces. Only she could appropriate Motown so memorably and so ironically.

“21” is also a derivative re-cord, but Adele is more eva-sive here. Her lyrics are still predicated upon thwarted desire, a tendency that sug-gests that she has listened to Bob Dylan’s “Blood on the Tracks.” Certainly Adele should be familiar with Dylan, whose “Make You Feel My Love” she covered on “19.” The ambivalence that charac-terizes Adele’s earlier music is entirely absent on “21,” the success of which must forever torment the former boyfriend who she claims inspired it.

There is also an element of her formidable contemporary, Amy Winehouse, but unlike the supremely resigned Wine-house, Adele never quites ex-presses unbridled rage. In that

regard, at least, she evokes John Lennon on “John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band.” Although Lennon’s wrath inspires a crisis of identity that concludes in an assertion of his selfhood, Adele can only manage the fulsome “Someone Like You,” which, perhaps inadvertently, suggests that she lacks the resolve to ex-ist without a boyfriend. There’s also the vindictive “Rumour Has It,” which should serve as a reassertion of her autonomy but, alas, is considerably more annoying than triumphant.

But Adele sings with an en-rapturing verve, and there is a refined vigor in her voice that distinguishes her from her con-temporaries. She does sound apathetic in comparison to her predecessors — and to the de-ceased Winehouse — but fortu-nately her competitors greatly accentuate her strengths. Per-haps Adele, as an artist, could evolve into the most distinctive performer of her age as Adele, the person, becomes more con-tent with herself. One can only hope that she will continue chasing pavements.

Christopher Feldsine is a contributing writer. Email him at [email protected].

The Highlighter presents Musical Influences: Adele

Despite her powerful voice, Adele’s influences are evident.VIA FOXNEWS.COM

HEAD TO THE HIGHLIGHTER:To read more columns in the Musical Influence series, and other series in-cluding Student Seeking Great Art, which features great city exhibits, and The Eighteen Percent, a column that examines women’s roles in the film industry, as well as other exclusive arts content, visit wsnhighlighter.com.

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About WSN: Washington Square News (ISSN 15499389) is the student newspaper of New York University. WSN is published Monday through Thursday during NYU’s academic year, except for university holidays, vacations and exam periods.

Corrections: WSN is committed to accurate reporting. When we make errors, we do our best to correct them as quickly as possible. If you believe we have erred, contact managing editor Amy Zhang at [email protected] or at 212.998.4302.

Photo Credits: Cover and Pages 2, 3: Inspired by the artwork of 'Journey' by thatgamecompany | Beasts of the Southern Wild - via facebook.com | The Perks of Being a Wallflower - via facebook.com | Silver Linings Playbook - courtesy of the Weinstein Company, via collider.com | 42 - courtesy of Legendary Pictures | Girls-Sincere - via facebook.com | Girls-Insincere - via facebook.com | Parks and Recreation - via facebook.com | Enlightened - via facebook.com | Dramas (Mad Men, Homeland) - via facebook.com | Journey - via nonexis-tent-one.deviantart.com | Future - via flickr.com (except for Remember Me - Courtesy of CAPCOM) | Past - via flickr.com | Thom Yorke - via facebook.com | Childish Gambino - via facebook.com| Deap Valley - Yasmine Panah for WSN | Lady Gaga - via facebook.com | Mumford and Sons - via facebook.com | Macklemore - via faceboo.com | Musicals - via flickr.com | Gimmicks - via flickr.com

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