University of South Carolina Libraries
CD REVIEW Poor-quality CD lacks creativity included on “Spend the Night.” It is possible that the record compa ny didn’t foresee “Spend the Night” as selling many copies, so it decided the DVD might be a way to enhance the album’s sales. The best group to compare the Donnas to would be the Go-Gos. Granted, it is fun music, but most people want to forget the music of the ’80s, which the Donnas seem to embrace. Maybe “Spend the Night” is a genius concept album and the reason each song sounds the same is beyond comprehen sion. The Donnas’ album is obvious in letting people know it is not in nocent, with such songs as “Take It Off,” “Dirty Denim” and “Take Me to the Backseat.” A lot of the lyrics completely lack any significant message, with cheesy lines, such as “I must have had too many Diet Cokes because I’m laughing at all your stupid jokes,” “You look like you only slept for an hour and smell like you haven’t taken a shower,” and “We could go out; you don’t have to be such a Boy Scout.” Amid the 13 songs, most of which listeners will swear are the same song, three tunes stick out as the best songs and are actually different from the others on the al bum. The backing vocals on “Dirty Denim” and the catchy gui tar parts on “Please Don’t Tease” and “You Wanna Get Me High” el evate the songs above the monotony of the rest of the album. But just as much of the blame for a poor album can be put on the album’s producers. Jason Carmer and Robert Shimp produced the album for Atlantic Records. How can any producer approach a band and suggest using hand claps and a cowbell, an instrument used on the album more often than not? It is impossible to conceive how Carmer and Shimp viewed “Spend the Night” as something that could be commercially successful. The element of fun is never lost, though, and that’s evident in the bonus DVD’s section on the mak ing of the album. The Donnas call the making of the album a “five month slumber party.” But, to put that in perspective, five months is almost the amount of time the Beatles spent on “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” The “Do You Wanna Hit It” video is animated, and again showcases the song’s lackadaisi cal, smiling aspect. The Andy Dick video is interesting at best, but the band acts as if it has to stick to an image mandated by its recording contract. And the Donnas probably didn’t get inter viewed by Andy Dick because he liked the music. The only reason listeners should purchase this album is if they love fifth-grade poetry and all-female ’80s rock. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com ‘Potter’ makes world premiere BY ED JOHNSON THE ASSOCIATED PRESS LONDON — Dressed in wizards’ hats and witches’ robes, hundreds of screaming fans greeted the stars of the new Harry Potter movie at its glitzy world premiere Sunday in London. “Daniel, Daniel, Daniel,” chant ed a crowd of teenage girls, as Daniel Radcliffe, the young actor who plays the boy wizard, arrived for the screening of ‘ ’Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.” “It is really strange, but very exciting,” Radcliffe said of the en thusiasm that greeted him upon his arrival at the Odeon cinema in London’s Leicester Square. Fans waited several hours, braving rain and wintry weath er, in the hope of getting a glimpse of the film’s cast. They cheered wildly at the ar rival of Rupert Grint, who plays Harry’s ginger-haired friend Ron Weasley, and Emma Watson, who stars as schoolmate Hermione Granger. Robbie Coltrane, who plays the half-giant Hagrid, also received a warm welcome from the crowd, which lined the famous square and stood in a specially construct ed stand decorated in the colors of the story’s Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. One star absent from the pre mier was the late Richard Harris, who played the role of Professor Albus Dumbledore. He died late last month of Hodgkin’s disease. “He would have liked to have been here tonight,” Radcliffe said. "He liked a good party. We did some very emotional scenes to gether. It is very hard.” In the film, based on ._ the novel by J.K. Rowling, the young maestro Harry enrolls for his second year at Hogwarts. But soon he must confront a sinister force that is intent on terrorizing the school. Aided by his friends Ron and Hermione, Harry rides to the rescue. Actor Ken neth Branagh has joined the cast as Gildroy _ Lockhart, professor of defense against the dark arts. Alan Rickman, Maggie, Smith, Harris and Coltrane take the roles they played in the first Potter film, “Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone.” Director Chris Columbus has described the new film as t “darker and funnier” than the last, with the charac ter of Harry exuding “more confidence and strength.” The film will go on general release in Britain and the United States on Nov. 15. The first Potter film has grossed $975 million world wide. | Daniel Radcllffe stars In the latest Harry Potter film, which will be released Nov. 15 In the United States. PHOTO BY PETER MOUNTAIN/KRT CAMPUS PHOTO BY NHAT V. MEYER/KRT CAMPUS Brett Anderson, lead singer “Donna A,” and the Donnas perform In San Francisco on Oct. 9. The Donnas’ new album, “Spend the Night,” suffers from monotony and Inane lyrics. Web Site CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 drums, asked his band to open for it. And soon thereafter, Maddox was playing with Tykes With Guns, also. “It’s a good resource for new bands in the area,” Kirincich said. He said the site should be used by “students who are just coming in each semester to find out about lo cal bands and find out what shows are coming to their favorite venues in Columbia.” et-~——.. . y-f”y^^y^g^rjr^ga «* J2l * S 5 ®1 SS^T"®,^., Q<~»~>*. $«i &«*.**•< £>***»•• ?)trn~»»m1«m Qwo piyv^M* p*-™*^- »| I -if f^jffynSFil^RByi^^fj^PTafyHBSffFffWBBBBBmBBiSBI^SSffWfSSi | 1 1 ^t^2SH^3SH r o=cji a ii(ji4*«']'u«i'yi» ■ ’ 1 M. j|| ass;=r j ; O '■»« (>***«• »0 KOI' PHOTO ILLUSTRATION COURTESTY OF SOUTHCAROLINABANDS.COM Comments on this stoiy?E-mail The Southcarolinabands.com message boards let fans and gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com musicians communicate and even find potential bandmates. Tobey Maguire and Kirsten Dunst star In “Spider-Man,” released on DVD and video this past week. ‘Spider-Man’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 interest for some people, howev er, would be the hints for the PlayStation2 Spider-Man game. The other half of the second disk is directed toward those who collect Spider-Man comics and were interested in the action hero before the movie made him ‘I Spy’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 best of friends. Even though it predictably follows the rest of its genre, “I Spy” succeeds because of the surprising chemistry that de velops between Murphy and Wilson. In the big picture, their impossible situations and comi cal banter make forgivable the somewhat weak plot and the completely forgettable bad guy, unimpressively played by Malcolm McDowell. I popular again. There’s a docu mentary about the evolution of the comic book, archives of Spider-Man comics from each decade since the ‘60s, biographies of Peter’s love interests and Spider-Man’s enemies, and a gallery of Spider-Man artwork. These extras are all fun and games for those who love Spider Man, but probably will not spark much interest in those who just want to watch the movie. Famke Janssen fits in nicely, too, as Alex’s spy colleague and love interest, whose loyalty to her fellow spies is questionable at best. Alex’s pursuit of her leads to the best gag of the movie: Robinson, in a Cyrano de Bergerac style, feeds lines from Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing” to Scott via earpiece to give him a chance with the beautiful femme fatale. Another nice supplement to the plot is the looming presence of Carlos, the hilarious Antonio Banderas-meets-James-Bond su perspy who will come in and re place Scott if things don’t go as planned. With any DVD, there is a chance for theme overload. “Spider-Man” definitely takes ad vantage of this overload without supplying much substance to ac company it You’ll come away from it knowing more about Spider-Man than the average person probably wanted to and ever will. At least until the sequel comes out. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com So even with its highly for mulated style and negligible bad guy cast, “I Spy” works because it doesn’t take itself too serious ly. It was made for the laughs, and it succeeds in that depart ment. Plus, along the way, it manages to squeeze in a little bit of satire of the spy movie genre: Scott himself becomes confused by all the twists and turns in the plot. For moviegoers trying to find straightforward, simple fun, “I Spy” is definitely worth a look. Comments on this story?E-mail gamecockmixeditor@fwtmail.com We’ll help you every step of the way. College can be a challenge, but sometimes you can find success in different ways and at different places. Check out Greenville Tech’s University Transfer program. Excel in small classes with expert instructors who are on your side and ready to help you every step of the way! Choose from four convenient campuses, and take advantage of lottery funds that will cut your tuition by 75 percent. Get back on track with a quality education! WILLE TECH College That Works (864) 250-8111 • (800) 922-1183 • www.greenvilletech.com i „t w Skydiving dog makes jump despite protests VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, CALIF. (AP) - Sporting custom made goggles, Brutus the skydiv ing dachshund plunged from a plane flying at 6,000 feet and parachuted before spectators at a military air show. Animal rights activists had condemned Saturday’s jump as cruel and exploitative. But Ron Sirull, the dog’s owner and diving partner, said Brutus gets a kick out of freefall—or “fleafall, ” as he calls it. “I love Brutus. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt him,” Sirull said. “It turns him on.” Brutus makes the jumps tucked into a pouch fastened to Sirull’s chest. Sirull says the 4-year-old dog has logged 100 jumps since his first dive at age 1. Sirull said his dog’s veterinari an and the Arizona Humane Society have signed off on the ac tivity as being safe. “The part he hates the most is the sound of the plane taking off,” Sirull said. “I cup his ears.” garnet&black LOOK FOR IT NOV. 18 ft “SPEND THE NIGHT” The Donnas ★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆' BY MIKE LUKE THE GAMECOCK Most people are familiar with the saying that coincides with in flation: If you have a wheelbarrow full of money, the wheelbarrow is worth more. Likewise, the back of the Donnas’ new CD is better used as a mirror than as a medium for listening to music. • The Donnas’ album, “Spend the Night,” is the female equiva lent of Andrew W.K.’s music, which is pure fun rather than something that strives for one ounce of originality. Surprisingly, all the music is written by the Donnas, which means they are not 100 percent the product of record-label spending. The second disk, a DVD, con tains an interview by Andy Dick, a segment documenting the mak ing of the album and a video for “Do You Wanna Hit It,” a song not