INSIDEBEATTHE WEEKLY ENTERTAINMENT MAGAZINE OF THE DAILY TARGUM

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Page 2 • Inside Beat Column October 15, 2009

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BY JASON STIVESMUSIC EDITOR

This year marks the 25th an-niversary of the Rock and RollHall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio.Each year, the Hall of Fame com-mittee selects a list of nine per-formers to be inducted into theHall of Fame based on their influ-ence and status as performers,sidemen and producers. In orderto become eligible, it has to be atleast 25 years since the release ofyour first album. Now that I havegiven a brief synopsis, herecomes my loss of civility on thesubject matter.

Two weeks ago, the 2010 classnominees were announced, and

Rock and Roll Hall of Shenanigans

EDITORIAL BOARD

THIS WEEK’S CONTRIBUTORS TO INSIDE BEAT : Aryeh Carni, Theo Jones, Tracy Lorenzo, Ashley Park, Kevin Quidor, Batya Rosenblum, Amy Rowe, Cassie Sperber, and Tara L. Young.

Cover photo by Brendan McInerney.

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

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while they are all deserving ofbeing in the Hall of Fame in someform, I’d like to contest the back-handed politics that go on amongthe core members who basicallydetermine who will get in. RollingStone magazine Co-Founder JannWenner has always been the de-ciding factor in who gets in, andas history has shown, his biasednature toward certain acts hasgotten in the way of who shoulddeservingly get in before others.Over the past couple of years, pol-itics have ultimately determinedthe people who have been in-ducted in the Hall of Fame. In2007, the Dave Clark Five werevoted on to get inducted but Wen-ner, sighting a lack of rap acts in

the Hall of Fame, exercised hisauthority to get GrandmasterFlash and the Furious Five in be-fore the Dave Clark Five, causingan outrage among a circle ofmusic journalists and artists. Thisyear, both rapper LL Cool J andBritish invasion hit-makers theHollies are up for induction. TheHollies have been eligible since1989, while LL Cool J only be-came eligible this year, and he gota nod on the first try — backhandin motion once again. The otherremaining nominees — Genesis,the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Kiss,ABBA and numerous others —are in the running and most likelyto make Wenner and company ap-pear really hip to the public. The

Chili Peppers will probably get inon first stroke.

As I said, they all deservetheir dues, but the Hall of Famehas really become more of a rat-ings and advertising pursuit in-stead of honoring some ofmusic’s greatest forces. Once theshow began to be televised, it be-came more than just an inductionceremony — it became a reasonto pull in outside revenue on anight normally reserved for theinductees. With the show’s trans-fer from VH1 Classic to Fuse, thehipster mentality of the Hall ofFame committee will cave to thetrendy artists than the deservingones. Let’s not forget the amountof artists who still have yet to be

nominated dating back almost 40years. Acts like T.Rex, Yes, TheStooges, the New York Dolls andthe MC5 have yet to be called upto the ranks. Even when TheStooges not only lost their gui-tarist Ron Asheton in January,but then whored themselves outto Madonna when she was in-ducted in 2008, you would thinkthey would be rewarded. But,alas, no go.

Rest assured if none of the de-serving acts get in this year, Iwon’t be wasting my time watch-ing great musicians get riddledwith commercial air time andsponsorship when the nightshould be all about them and notabout Madison Avenue mentality.

October 15, 2009 Books • Fashion Inside Beat • Page 3

BY ASHLEY PARKSTAFF WRITER

Full of crooked relationships,duplicities and twists, Her FearfulSymmetry by Audrey Niffeneggeris a thick and engrossing gothictale.

Elspeth Noblin is as dead asdead can get. Or is she? While herremains are interred in London’srenowned Highgate Cemetery,Elspeth undergoes a supernaturaland spectral condensation into aghost within her flat.

A letter arrives for Julia andValentina Poole 3,000 miles fromEngland containing the will oftheir Aunt Elspeth, whom theyhave never met before. She hasgenerously bequeathed her apart-ment to the twins on the conditionthat they must live in it for oneyear before they sell it, and theirparents must never enter it, espe-cially their mother and Elspeth’sown twin sister, Edie. Estrangedfrom Elspeth for more than 20years, Edie is suspicious of El-speth’s motives. Wary of tricksunder her sister’s sleeves, she un-willingly lets her 21-year-olddaughters go to London.

Dreaming of fairy tale en-chantments and horror stories,the twins have little clue of whatis in store for them. They arelaunched into Elspeth’s world,

Her FearfulSymmetry

Audrey Niffenegger | B

WHAT A BY CASSIE SPERBERSTAFF WRITER

It is impossible to predict whatpop superstar Lady GaGa will stepout of her house wearing. Whetheror not the public supports her spon-taneous outfit choices, the presscan’t get enough of her. Whereverthe diva goes, she is sure to attractcameras, due to her crazy sense ofstyle. However, many questionwhether it is a style or whether sheneglects to check the mirror beforeleaving her house. There are notmany stars who would wear a coatmade of stuffed Kermit the Frog toysor dress up as a lampshade for an in-terview — a distinction that clearlyseparates her from singers like Brit-ney Spears, Jessica Simpson andChristina Aguilera.

Her abstract outfit choices — in-cluding a long black cape and a mas-querade mask — continue to keep thepublic and critics interested. At thisyear’s MTV Video Music Awards,when giving her acceptance speechfor Best New Artist, she wore a short,red-lace dress with a crown. Thecrown was connected to her dress bylace that draped over her face. Shortlyafter, she sat in the audience wearing awhite feathered headdress that re-sembled a bird’s nest. Then duringher performance, she donned a head-piece that had big white featherssprouting from both sides of her headand a mask that covered her face.These were only three of the six out-fits she went through that night.

Keeping with her obsession forstrange headdresses, she was pho-tographed walking around in London

LADY!

COURTESY OF MTV

BY NIDHI SARAIYABOOKS EDITOR

Every year in October, two of the most prestigious literary honors, the Nobel Prize in Literature and theMan Booker Prize, are awarded to some of the world’s most talented authors. This year’s picks are HertaMüller and Hilary Mantel.

BY TRACY LORENZOSTAFF WRITER

Now that the weather is getting colder, it’stime to bring out the fall wardrobes! While theseason gives a chance to wear outfits that arenice and snug, it also seems to put people’s styleon pause. Finding someone on campus who isnot wearing a North Face fleece, jeans and Uggboots is like a difficult level of Where’s Waldo?Everyone wears the same fur-hooded jackets andthe same sweaters. Well, guess what? There aretons of fun versions for all of your fall favorites.Here are three itemsthat can fix this un-stylish uniformity.

Take of f thatboring blazer thatmakes you looklike a stuck-up li-brarian. You canstill keep a so-phisticated tonewith this Silent& Noise FauxL e a t h e rBlazer fromUrban Outfit-ters ($128).

Stop fol-lowing every-o n e ’ sUgg-shapedfootsteps withboots that are just as comfy and a whole lot cuter.

Moccasins are in this season. Nowget that look in a boot for addedwarmth. Nine West has pairs ofKinna Boutique 9 ($250) boots inblack, brown and taupe.

Leggings are a must! WhileLindsay Lohan isn’t the greatestrole model, she makes pretty awe-some tights. Her brand 6126 car-ries an edgy pair of Star Leggings

($110). Here’s a tip: Forever 21’sSlashed Pebble Hole Leg-gings ($7.80) will give youthat exact same edge.

fashion fix

HILARY MANTEL2009 winner of the Man Booker Prize

The book may not be available in stores yet, butHilary Mantel’s Wolf Hall has already won this year’sMan Booker Prize, a literary award bestowed uponthe best fiction writers of the Commonwealth of Na-tions and Ireland. Wolf Hall takes place in 1520s Eng-land and tells the story of Thomas Cromwell, KingHenry VIII’s chief minister. Mantel modernizes his-tory, making her a perennial favorite in the U.K. Man-tel is not new to receiving awards for her writing,having received the Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize,the Sunday Express of the Year, the HawthorndenPrize and the Orange Prize.

Look out for:Every Day is Mother’s DayA Place of Greater SafetyAn Experiment in LoveGiving up the Ghost

HERTA MÜLLER2009 laureate of the Nobel Prize in Literature

She may not be well known in the U.S., but Ro-manian-born German writer Herta Müller has beenimpressing crowds for years in Germany. Her vividdescriptions of life under communist rule and perse-cution of Romanian Germans are influenced by herfamily’s experiences with the Nazi Party and thegulag slave labor camps, as well as her own struggleswith the Romanian government over censorship ofher work. Only a handful of her books have beentranslated into English, but her Nobel Prize ensuresthat it will not stay that way for long.

Look out for:The Land of the Green PlumsNadirsThe PassportTraveling on One LegThe Appointment

LITERARY TITANS

which is full of secrets, a sinisterlybeautiful cemetery and eccentricneighbors. Upstairs lives Martin,a remarkable linguist and cross-word writer afflicted by a severecase of obsessive-compulsive dis-order. Elspeth’s mysterious ex-lover, the cemetery expert Robert,lives downstairs. Living withintheir own flat, the girls soon dis-cover a hidden resident — theghost of Elspeth.

Highgate Cemetery is so se-ductively eerie that Niffeneggerherself worked there as a tourguide. Prominent figures areburied there, including Karl Marx,George Eliot and the parents ofCharles Dickens. It was opened in1839 because England’s over-whelming dead were causinghealth problems within the city. InVictorian England, it soon becamethe hotspot for the dead. The omi-nous cemetery is a world for thedead, London is the land of the liv-ing and the Poole twins live some-where in between.

Those who have come to readand love The Time Traveler’s Wife— and authors like Libba Bray andKate Morton — will find that Niff-enegger has an entirely new andexciting story to offer. Part horror,part science fiction and part fan-tasy, this book is a perfect read forHalloween enthusiasts excited forthe coming holiday.

with a lace headpiece that covered herface. Over in Berlin, the diva kept theintensity going with a shiny fitted blackdress with a black, cape-like jacket andfishnets. She accented the outfit withblack lace gloves and a mask.

Her exotic sense of style is alsodisplayed in her latest video “Pa-parazzi.” Near the middle of the song,there is a dance scene where she per-forms in a white leotard, accented byblack layers of mesh on only half ofher body. Paired up with black heels,GaGa somehow manages to pull of fthe look.

GaGa also recently endorsed anew line of headphones called Heart-beats by Lady GaGa. At the launchparty on Sept. 30, she wore a shortcustom-made Marc Jacobs pearledtop with lace tan bloomers. Shematched up this outfit with a pair ofAlexander Wang sunglasses and tanpeep toe shoes. The look, which in-cluded pieces that are directly fromthe designers’ spring 2010 collec-tions, are so hot of f the press thateven famous stylists and editors arehaving trouble getting their hands on them.

Much of her outrageous style canbe credited to the infamous Jean PaulGaultier. The famous designer behindMadonna’s cone bras has designedmany of Lady GaGa’s outrageous out-fits, and his most recent collection ismade up of looks that only the singercan pull off.

Whether Lady GaGa is performingone of her hit singles in front of mil-lions or simply walking down thestreets of London, she is certainly cap-turing the attention of the music andfashion industries.

RID

ING

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RURUTGERS

BOWS AND TWEED AT PASSION PUDDLE

BRING BRIGHT COLORS TO LIVINGSTON CAMPUS

in styleSTORY BY MICHAEL MALVASIO • FASHION EDITOR

ALL PHOTOS BY BRENDAN MCINERNEY •STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

KIYANNA STEWART • MODEL

ROSANNA VOLIS & NATALY CUEVAS • FASHION ASSISTANTS

ALL CLOTHING COURTESY OF SOMEWHERE IN TIME • 115 FRENCH ST., NEW BRUNSWICK N.J.CHECK OUT WWW.INSIDE-BEAT.COM FOR A LOOK AT MORE PHOTOS FROM THE SHOOT

Inspired by the iconic locations at the University, we decided to take a journey uniting everyday

campus spots with the glamorous world of fashion.From a morning at Passion Puddle to a big night outending at the Grease Trucks, an entire day was spentcapturing great style with Rutgers as the backdrop.

THE BAND HAS NEVER LOOKED SO GOOD AT THE STADIUM

SOME UP-SCALE CLASS AT THE GREASE TRUCKS

LOOKING STYLISH IN FUR ON THE EE

October 15, 2009Film • TVPage 6 • Inside Beat

BY TOM WRIGHT-PIERSANTITV EDITOR

When was the last time a TV pilot gaveyou chills?

If you’ve seen ABC’s newest sci-fi serialFlashForward, then odds are you’ve hadthe experience pretty recently. That’s be-cause FlashForward is the most engross-ing new show since Lost, and easily thebest new network drama this season.

The show’s premise is deceptively sim-ple: All of humanity passes out for exactly137 seconds, and in that time they seewhat appears to be their own lives sixmonths in the future.

After dealing with the immediate after-math — for example, every plane that wasin the air crashed — the FBI begins to sortthings out. Along with the National SecurityAgency, they build a Web site where peoplecan tell what they saw and start trying tocreate a clearer picture of April 29, 2010, thedate when everyone “flashed forward.”

But at the heart of the FBI investigationis a tiny piece of video evidence from a se-

FlashForwardABC, Thursday 8 p.m. | A-

BY NIDHI SARAIYABOOKS EDITOR

Last week’s episode of NBC’sThe Office was six seasons in themaking. Resident office coupleJim Halpert and Pam Beesly(played by John Kransinski andJenna Fischer) finally got mar-ried. The episode may havelacked in its usual humor, butthis is because — for once — thegimmicks of manager MichaelScott (Steve Carell) and his part-ner-in-crime salesman DwightSchrute (Rainn Wilson) wereforced to take a back seat. De-spite their usual stunts, it was un-deniable that this week’s specialone-hour episode was all aboutJim and Pam.

The taboo of two coworkersdating should have been thebiggest obstacle in Pam and Jim’srelationship, but as employees ofthe Scranton branch of the Dun-der-Mifflin Paper Company, it wasthe least of their concerns. At first,it was just a friendly flirtatious re-lationship between Jim the sales-man and Pam the receptionist,who was engaged to Roy Ander-son (David Denman) — one of thecompany’s warehouse workers.When Roy decided to end his dor-mant engagement to Pam by an-nouncing a wedding date, Jimsummons the courage to tell Pamthat he loves her, but the confusedPam does not tell Jim what hewants to hear.

By the time Pam calls of f herwedding to Roy, Jim has trans-ferred to Dunder-Mifflin’s Stam-ford branch and dates anothercoworker in an attempt to moveon. A merger between the Stam-ford and Scranton branches re-unite Pam and Jim, but now Jimis no longer willing to make thefirst move. Pam literally walks

The Office WeddingHave Your Cake and Eat It Too

BY THEO JONESSTAFF WRITER

The zombie film genre still hassome life in it yet — fast, gory,bombastic and completely hilariouslife. This is the best way to describeZombieland, the comedy that pres-ents itself as a member of the hor-ror genre while it pretty muchpokes fun at every scary movie thatcame before it. The premise is sim-ple: If the world was taken over byzombies, what would the peoplewho weren’t zombies do?

The film — narrated by JesseEisenberg’s character, Columbus— is about a college kid just tryingto get back home to Ohio to findhis parents after a zombie apoca-lypse. This film is a prime exampleof how a good voiceover can actu-ally make a film better. Columbus’rules of living in Zombielandare a running themethroughout the film, addingwords and graphics to thebackground, which keepviewers wondering whatrule will come next. Whenthe movie quickly intro-duces Woody Harrelson’scharacter, Tallahassee, theaction really starts.

Take the ultimate moviehero, a God-given talent forkilling zombies, a twistedsense of humor and a questto find the last Twinkie onEarth, and you have Talla-hassee. He is the film’s

Zombieland Ruben Fleischer | B+

BY TARA L. YOUNGSTAFF WRITER

Whip It is the tale of 17-year-oldBliss (Ellen Page, Juno) trying tobreak out of her small blue-collartown life to find her place in theworld. That place happens to be ona roller derby team. While on theteam, the Hurl Scouts, she excels asa top athlete, adopting the new per-sona of “Babe Ruthless.” This is a180-degree turn from her existenceas Bliss, the oft-picked-on wannabebeauty queen.

In trying to do what she wants,Bliss has to — like most adoles-cents — form a web of deception.She lies about being 22, the age youmust be to compete in roller derby.This complicates her love life with

Whip ItDrew Barrymore | B+

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indie-rocker Oliver (Landon Pigg),whom she meets at an after-partythrown by the league’s sponsor andannouncer, “Hot Tub” Johnny (Sat-urday Night Live alum Jimmy Fal-lon). Bliss must also lie to herparents about her whereabouts, notonly because she is still in highschool, but because her mother(the always-phenomenal MarciaGay Harden, Mystic River) wantsher to maintain her appearance foran upcoming beauty pageant.

Shauna Cross, who adapted thescreenplay from her own novel,not only captures teenage angstwell, she also creates a lot oflaugh-out-loud situations and one-liners. Whip It marks Drew Barry-more’s directorial debut, and withover three decades of being in

front of the camera, her extensiveexperience shows. Though thereare stellar performances through-out the film, Kristen Wiig (SNL,Knocked Up) shines as the HurlScout’s captain, Maggie Mayhem,proving once again she is a greatcomedian and actress.

Some will place Whip It in the“chick flick” genre, but it is trulyenjoyable for people of all demo-graphics. Younger viewers will seeWhip It as inspirational, while olderviewers will watch with a sense ofnostalgia. No matter what, there issome element everyone will ableto connect with. Fans of indie com-ing-of-age films like Juno and Nickand Norah’s Infinite Playlist willparticularly enjoy Whip It, as it hasa very similar vibe.

over hot coals to tell Jim in frontof all their coworkers that hewas the reason she called of fher wedding to Roy, and sincethen, the two have been prettymuch inseparable.

Usually a show starts to losesteam once the major couple fi-nally gets together, but so far TheOffice has been able to keep thingsfresh without introducing unnec-essary drama to Jim and Pam’slives. But their wedding mostamusingly does not go off withouta hitch. Michael is constantly in-terfering as usual, wanting to givetoasts, sit at the head table andprobably officiate the wedding ifhe could.

At the same time, he and theother two stooges, Dwight andAndy (Ed Helms), are trying theirbest to hook up with the hottestgirls at the wedding. But Andy’sattempt to throw a pre-weddingparty ends with Pam having todrive him to the hospital.

Even worse, Jim — despitePam’s warnings — of fends herVictorian-era grandmother, andhours before the ceremony itseems like Pam is about to crackfrom all the pressure of keepingher friends and family happy.But Jim, with the resourceful-ness of a man who used to prankDwight on a daily basis, has abackup plan to give Pam andtheir guests a wedding that theywill always remember.

The Office’s wedding episodewas just about as perfect as it gets.After six years, Pam finally got thewedding of her dreams. And al-though the episode may have fo-cused on Jim and Pam, eachcharacter had a subplot to highlighttheir quirks and remind us whywe’ve been tuning in week afterweek to watch the lives of thesecrazy paper company employees.

backbone. Without Tallahassee,Zombieland simply would not bean enjoyable film. The two pair upwith sisters Little Rock and Wi-chita, played Little Miss Sunshine’sAbigail Breslin and Superbad’sEmma Stone. The movie reallyshines once all four characters de-cide to stay together, playing off ofeach other’s strengths and weak-nesses. Whether it’s Tallahassee’sunwitting quest to stop Columbusfrom hooking up with Wichita, orLittle Rock educating Tallahasseeon who Hannah Montana is, thefilm allows for the kind of charac-ter detail that is rare for both horror and comedy.

Simply put, you get everythingyou want from a zombie movie.There’s amazing makeup work,great zombie-killing sequences,and perhaps most importantly, afunny and talented cast. While

watching Zombieland, you getcomfortable with its in-jokes, likethe “Zombie Kill Of The Week.” Italso has one of a great cameo ap-pearance, which — if your friendshave not already ruined for you —will come as a thrilling surprise.

Zombieland shows that even forbeing undead, zombies don’t needto eat our brains to keep our at-tention — they can make us laughhysterically, too. With Halloweenlooming, there really isn’t a betterfilm to see to get you amped up forthe end of the month. Zombielandmay seem short, but a two-hourepic isn’t really necessary to tellthis story. Zombieland definitelyneeds to be seen immediately.With all of the semi-serious Oscar-bait films about to hit at the end ofthe month and through Novem-ber, it’s exactly what’s needed tolighten the mood.

curity camera in a Detroit baseball stadium.As everyone sits unconscious in their seats,the grainy footage shows a man in a blackcloak walking down an aisle, turning dra-matically and exiting the section.

Now the FBI must figure out who thisman is, why he didn’t pass out and what hismotives could possibly be. Luckily forthem, when protagonist Special AgentMark Benford (Joseph Fiennes, Shake-speare in Love) flashed forward, he sawhimself deep into the investigation, and hismemory of what he saw on his corkboardprovides them with a few nice leads.

Beyond the basic plot points, though, theshow’s true strength comes in its ponderingof more existential questions. It never comesout and announces, “What these people sawwas the future.” Instead, it lets them — andus — wonder if they have the ability tochange what they saw. Benford’s daughter,whose vision is only hinted at cryptically,asks him if what they saw was set in stone.He tells her that the good visions are goingto happen, but the bad visions are like warn-ings, and that they can be avoided.

He says this to calm his child down, butit’s an interesting theory, and one that hesubscribes to mainly because his wife sawherself with another man. But the more hethinks about his wife’s potential future in-fidelity, the madder he gets, and the moretheir previously rock-solid relationshipbreaks down. This leads us to wonder ifthe flash-forwards were self-fulfillingprophecies, and that just by knowingthey’re supposed to happen people willcause them to happen.

The eeriest flash-forwards, though, arethe people who saw nothing. John Cho(Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle) playsSpecial Agent Demetri Noh, Benford’s part-ner at the FBI. When he passed out, he sawnothing, and now he has to live his life know-ing that he’ll be dead within six months.

But does he have to die? The showgives us no guarantee that blackness in aflash-forward means death. He could havebeen sleeping and just not dreaming, forinstance. If he thinks he’s going to die,though, will he live more recklessly, even-tually bringing it upon himself?

There’s a chance that just by seeingwhat they think they’re supposed to bedoing on April 29, 2010, everyone will in-advertently direct their lives to that point.There’s also the chance that the futurethey saw is set in stone, and they cannotchange it. And of course, there is no rea-son that the world’s visions of April 29 haveto become even remotely true.

What makes FlashForward so great isthat it doesn’t immediately offer answers— and it doesn’t feel the need to. Theshow is action-packed and well-shot, andwhile the dialog and acting are a bit stiff(especially the insufferably corny dialogwritten for children) the overarchingstory arc is so captivating that it’s impos-sible to turn off.

It’s not often that a network show givesyou the chance to question time theories,the concept of predetermined fate and ex-istence itself, and even rarer that they finda way to do it without seeming like they’retalking down to the audience. Luckily,FlashForward does all that, and it seemslike it’s going to have a pretty bright future.

October 15, 2009 Music Inside Beat • Page 7

BY ARYEH

CARNISTAFF WRITER

The imaginative duo Air per-sistently explores the unknown,while always retaining their owndistinct sound. They utilize or-ganic and synthesized instru-ments alike, bringing a sweet,melodic element to a spacey, ro-botic musical style.

Weaving beautiful pianomelodies, eerie synth lines, andheavily-effected robotic vocals,Air’s ambient electronica drifts themind to distant galaxies with thewonder of a young child.

Consequently, their latestalbum follows their usual pattern.Appropriately titled Love 2, thealbum alludes to the coldness ofstale, robotic “love,” mirrored byclassic Air melodies.

Continuing the cliché of anemotionless robot searching forhuman feelings (Johnny 5, any-one?), the album picks up later inthe journey — the robot hasfound love.

This results in cold distantlyrics ironically complementingslow joyful ballads. When the

Love 2 | B+

BY JASON STIVESMUSIC EDITOR

The description of something beinglike a distant mountain — mysteriousand foreboding — is quite a vivid wayto describe the unexplainable. Ohio-born singer/songwriter Scott Walkeris like a mountain range. Walker, bornScott Engel, was one-third of the pop-rock trio The Walkers Brothers, whoemigrated from the United States toGreat Britain in 1965, where theyruled the singles charts with a stringof top-10 hits and a fan base that ri-valed The Beatles’.

Their success in the United King-dom was not matched in the UnitedStates, except for two top-20 hits,“Make it Easy on Yourself” and “TheSun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore” in1966. After the group disbanded in1967, Walker — already disenchantedwith the limelight — released a stringof solo albums focusing on the loungy,middle-of-the-road style more akin toHarry Belafonte and Frank Sinatra.

However, these albums proved to bea creative stronghold for the future re-cluse as the self-proclaimed “boy child”flexed his writing skills with some of themost striking imagery of his adoptedEngland homeland and of the rest of theworld. He continued these reflectionson his third album and first album com-posed mostly of his own material, 1969’sScott 3.

From the high-pitched strings open-ing of “It’s Raining Today,” Walker is inthe mood to live and to forget the nu-ances of his childlike life. The aura of un-certainty in his vocals on the trackblissfully fades away in the followingsong “Copenhagen,” an ode to a town ofsimple love and to a woman he so des-

BY BATYA

ROSENBLUMSTAFF WRITER

Breaking Ben-jamin returns

with their highly anticipatedfourth studio album, Dear Agony,after a three-year break from thestudio. True fans will not be disap-pointed with this album, whichcarries the hard-hitting beats wehave come to expect since theirevolution in Phobia.

The album opens strongly with“Fade Away,” and at the onset, it isnot apparent that their sound hasgreatly evolved since their last stu-dio effort. Yet they exhibit heart-felt lyrics that are a step up fromwhat we have become used tofrom the band.

The hidden gem of this albumlies near the end, where Breaking

BREAKINGBENJAMIN

Dear Agony | B+

BY AMY ROWESTAFF WRITER

Congregants at Philadelphia’sFirst Unitarian Church on Oct. 2were treated to a pleasing lineup.Why?, an indie rock band with ap-parent hip-hop influence, recentlybegan a tour for their new album,Eskimo Snow.

The first opener of the nightwas a band called Dark DarkDark. Their mellow sounds werenot a match for the crowd’s audi-ble excitement. The female leadvocals were all too reminiscent ofRegina Spektor or Joanna New-som, but much less intriguing.However, the second openers,Au, were truly crowd pleasers.Au featured an experimentalsound with their sampler ma-

Who? Where? WHY?

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Scott WalkerScott 3

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emotions cannot be displayedproperly, the beat quickens, andthey are displayed through musical climaxes.

The opening track, “Do TheJoy,” opens with a Mars Attackssynth line, and lays inaudibleMartian vocals over sweet airyones, immediately displaying thealbums conflicting theme.“Love” features a mechanicalvoice that can only manage tosystematically convey its feel-ings through one word: love.“You Can Tell it to Everybody,”is a stale permission letter to tellthe world, “there is somethinggoing on between us.”

The album is comprised ofpoignant, slowly building songsthat almost never digress. Thisis most clearly displayed on thealbums longest track, “TropicalDisease.” After a slow melodichorn intro, the beat quickens.An indicative swirling piano car-ries away your mind, while xylo-phones and flutes keep yourbody grounded. Just as youthink the end is near, slow hornsre-enter accompanied by a slowjazz beat. This moment of infi-nite beauty is paralleled by oneludicrous lyric: “Women, youmake me feel warm inside.”

Benjamin slips away from all con-vention with “Anthem of the An-gels,” which opens with violins, ofall instruments. It is as close asBreaking Benjamin will get to aballad of lost love boasting lyrics of“I keep holding onto you/But I can’tbring you back to life.” Don’t worry,the guitar rifts come in later on,but this song strays from all that istypical and displays the bands will-ingness to explore other types ofmusic. However, it seems as ifthey weren’t sure what to do withthis song, burying it towards theend. It is evident that this nine-year-old band is still evolving.

Dear Agony is definitely wortha listen. Their lyrics offer some-thing more than in previous pes-simistic themes. It serves more asa segue to a reformation in up-coming albums with little thingsthat may surprise you hiddenthroughout the album.

perately needs. Walker uses England’sfinest brass and strings sections to hisfull advantage, creating mini master-pieces that tell fleeting adventures inlust, desire and wonderment.

The triumph of this record is the track“Big Louise,” a beautiful ode to a less-than-attractive but mother-like woman,which serves as another example ofWalker’s then-growing songwriting skills.Many of the simpler album tracks, like“30 Century Man” and “If You Go Away,”harness the various sounds that came outof the ’60s, including folk, rock, jazz andpop music. Walker’s brooding imagery ofa peaceful landscape in turbulent timescould elevate him to poet laureate statusfor his ability to paint pictures of the sur-roundings presented to him.

The last track, “If You Go Away,”could easily be a mirror of the worriesWalker had of his then-dwindling fanbase and audience. Although Scott 3charted in the U.K. Top 5 in early 1969, itslowly dropped off, and his next releaseof that year, Scott 4, didn’t chart at all,leading Walker slowly into the reclusivestarved artist persona that many haveknown of him for the past few decades.

In 25 years, Walker has released onlythree studio albums, but a recent docu-mentary on the so-called “Orson Wellesof the music industry” entitled ScottWalker: 30 Century Man has seen thepopularity of his body of work come fullcircle in appreciation, thanks to theartists he has influenced, includingJarvis Cocker, Bat For Lashes, TheSmiths and Radiohead. While Walkerrarely makes a public appearance, hispresence remains. As he ventures intolaying groundwork for another album,rest assured that when the time comes,Walker will have something once againto shock and awe his audience with.

chine, guitar, drums and — sur-prisingly — a saw. Their poppymelodies spawned uncontrollabledancing and merriment in thetightly-packed church basement.

Why? finally stepped on stageand began their set with twotracks of f their sophomorealbum Alopecia, entitled “TheHollows” and “The Fall of Mr.Fifths.” The set continued withvarious songs from the less hiphop-influenced Eskimo Snow.With this new album, the bandopted to add keyboards to manyof its tracks. They supplementedkeys to live versions of oldersongs, and such an alterationproved quite delightful in thesong “Good Friday.” It was agreat accent to frontman YoniWolf’s deadpan, raw lyrics.

Among the mass of EskimoSnow tracks, it was assuring tohear the epic “Into the Shadowsof My Embrace” as well as “Jan-uary Twenty Something” and“These Hands,” even if the orderof the latter two seamless songsdid not correspond with thealbum track listing. Other gen-eral favorites like the anthem-like “The Vowels Part Two” and“Rubber Traits” made an appear-ance throughout the diverse set.The band’s encore was the fan fa-vorite “Gemini” and a song byWolf ’s side project, Hymie’sBasement. The band’s live soundwas rough and garage-like, yetdown to earth. The set list wasfantastic and catered to the de-sires of every fan present, newand old.

October 15, 2009Video GamesPage 8 • Inside Beat

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BY KEVIN QUIDORSTAFF WRITER

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days(that’s pronounced “358 days overtwo”) is the fourth title in the Dis-ney/Square action role-playinggame franchise, and the first gameto appear on the Nintendo DS.

Set as a bridge between thefirst and second Kingdom Heartsgames, 358/2 Days has the playertaking up the mantle of Roxas, amysterious boy able to wield aKeyblade like the series’ protago-nist, Sora. Roxas is a member ofOrganization XIII, a group of like-minded Nobodies intent on com-pleting Kingdom Hearts to givethemselves hearts, and his task isto take up missions across variousDisney-themed worlds, like Hal-loweentown and Beast’s Castle, inorder to collect the hearts.

If I’ve lost you already, it’s prob-ably because the story behind theKingdom Hearts games is one ofthe most confusing and en-thralling game stories to date. (Idefinitely suggest checking outthe older Kingdom Hearts gamesfor Playstation.)

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Daysmakes a great transition from thedual analog controls of its Playsta-tion counterparts to the D-pad onthe DS. While camera functional-ity suffers due to a lack of analogsticks, multiple control settingshelp to alleviate the problem. Thegame looks great, although jaggededges do remind you that it is a DSgame. New versions of the series’trademark music help to spice upstale environments that have beenseen, in a few cases, in every King-dom Hearts installment.

The story, clocked in ataround 33 hours, focuses on anunderused aspect of the previ-ous games, Organization XIII,and really shines because of it.

Square Enix | B+

Kingdom Hearts:358/2 Days

While it does tend to drag on abit in the second half, the finalact really makes up for it, tyingup loose ends and leading rightinto the beginning of KingdomHearts 2 masterfully.

Combat feels well put-together,filled with dazzling magic attacksand incredibly fluent ground andair combos. Instead of a traditionalleveling system, 358/2 Daysadopts a panel system, whereincompleting missions awards vari-ous panels than can be inserted ona grid to flesh out your characterin whichever way the playerdeems appropriate.

This franchise entry deviatesfrom the normal progressivestory system of the others anduses a mission system with a cen-tral hub world where new questscan be picked up. The systemworks well on a handheld, al-though the missions do end upfeeling a little bit copy-and-pasted,where you end up doing the samethings, just in a different environ-ment. One mission type in partic-ular has you sneaking aroundtrying not to be seen by variousenemies, and feels like a con-trived gameplay element betterleft on the cutting room floor.

A mission mode is also in-cluded, where you can take anyof the Organization’s members,and a few very secret characters,into the field to complete anyavailable missions to earn moneyand points to improve your panelgrid. Mission mode serves as afun distraction that suits thehandheld system.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days isa must-buy for any series fan, orfor any action-RPG fan who ownsa DS. While not being familiar withthe rich story may detract from itsvalue, it serves as a decent stand-alone addition to any game library.Repetitive missions, janky cameracontrols, and a very long story fora handheld game make the expe-rience rough, but fun, in-depthcombat and a riveting story help tokeep the game afloat and make itworthy of a purchase.