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OOTOCTUS ^ IV/TTV THEY SAID IT M / I ■ M MARK TWAIN: "I have never Story ideas? Questions? Comments? j I 1/ I ■ /m let schooling interfere with E-mailusatgamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com A I W 11/ m ’ my education” ^ If I lit Suddenly, Springsteen was everywhere. “Time,” “Newsweek,” and various music publications were all covering Springsteen and his new cult of listeners, who viewed his concerts with an almost religious fervor. However, a lot of the potential fans were turned offby the media 1 nachine. Did Springsteen live up to the hype? He most certainly did, but the hype did manage to overshadow his true greatness. Now, in 2002 it seems that we find the Boss in the same shoes «Ue was almost thirty years ago. The release of his new album, “The Rising,” had garnered an almost ludicrous amount of media attention. If you’ve watched television at some point this week, its very likely that you’ve seen Bruce Springsteen, whether it was his Today Show” free concert from Asbury Park or his interview with Ted Koppel on both “Nightline” and “Up Close.” The real question then is whether or not the album stands up to the hype. Thankfully, it not only stands up to the hype, which once again has been more about the phenomenon than the music; it surpasses it. One of the biggest marketing —- tools Columbia has ; used to push “The Rising” is the fact that j it’s the first studio j album Springsteen has recorded with the E Street Band since 1984’s “Born in the USA.” The reunion is a welcome return of the band’s epic sound. Each of the familiar players is back, and each does what they do best. The sheer size of the sound seems to be a bit toned down, which is probably due to producer Brendan O’Brien. “THE RISING" Bruce Springsteen out of O’Brien is mostly used to guitar-based bands, and that predisposition can be seen clearly on “The Rising.” This doesn’t really hurt the album as long as listeners aren’t expecting “Born to Run” all over again. While the music is always 40 percent of any Springsteen album, the songs and the lyrics are the other 60 percent. Bruce Springsteen has always been seen as “one of us,” a man whose music comes from the true working-class heart of America. So far, most of the hype has jumped on this chance to call “The Rising” an album about the effects of Sept. 11 on the common ♦ RISING, SEE PAGE B3 Springsteen hasn’t played Columbia since 1996, when he hit the Township Auditorium with an acoustic act on the “Ghost of Tom Joad” tour. Hopes are high that opening the arena with such a big act will help to boost the some what light concert scene in the capital city. The last major tour to come through Columbia was the Rolling Stones concert at Williams-Bryce Stadium in 1994. Tom Paquette, the general man ager of the Carolina Center, said, “If Bruce is willing to play this market, others should certainly be willing to play here." He said that he believes it is a “growing and hungry market.” Local musician Ronnie Cleland is less optimistic. “It definitely can’t hurt. Bringing in a big name like that might as well make room for other people, but who really knows?” Cleland said. Ticket sales and prices had not been announced at press time, but prices for the other tour stops are ranging from $72.50 to $75. The Carolina Center is an 18,000-seat arena located at the bottom of campus on Lincoln Street that will open in October. USC has hired Global Spectrum to manage the arena. Global Spectrum manages 30 arenas, sta diums and convention centers around the country, including Williams-Brice Stadium. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com MOVIE REVIEW Signs’of simplicityfor Gibson “SIGNS” Starring Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix ★★★ out of BY TUG BAKER tiikuaMbcock Writer and director M. Night Shyamalan doesn’t really want ^ moviegoers to know what his movies are about until they watch the final credits roll up the screen. In all three of his films, the trailers have been vague at best and, upon seeing the movie, have almost nothing to do with the movie itself. There’s nothing wrong with this. In fact, it’s nice to see a movie for once where you haven’t seen all the good parts 50 times before you saw the movie. Jj^^ing at the trailer for “Signs,” one would assume that it was a movie about a small farming family who discover a crop circle in their field and become the targets of aliens. This is really only partly right. Mel Gibson stars as Graham Hess, a former Episcopalian minister who has lost his faith after a family tragedy. Hess lives with his two children Morgan and Bo (Rory Culkin and Abigail Breslin) and his brother Merrill (Joaquin Phoenix). When the family discovers a crop circle, their lives take a strange turn. The real appeal of this film is that it is an alien invasion story told from the eyes of regular people. This isn't "Independence Day” where we follow the president as he gets in a fighter jet to lead the attack against the aliens (when would that ever w happen). Instead, this is a movie about what would happen to you . and your family should you have a close encounter of the third kind. On some levels, “Signs” is a brilliant piece of cinema. The acting is incredible; Gibson and Phoenix deliver a wholly believable connection with Culkin and Breslin. These two child stars also manage to hold their weight in the movie, portraying perfectly the young but wise souls that have become a bit of a motif in Shyamalan’s films. Shyamalan’s directorial skills have actually managed to improve with this film. The old school directing style he uses works well for a suspense film. There aren’t that many special ♦ SIGNS, SEE PAGE B7 *<&• PHOTO COURTESY KRT CAMPUS Joaquin Phoenix, Mel Gibson, Rory Culkin and Cherry Jones star in “Signs.” w (h