The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, August 27, 2003, Page 8, Image 8
THEY SAID IT
ppATT’APHP TTQ ANDY WARHOL: “Ifyou want to know all
VjvJiN IrVU I U O about Andy Warhol, just look at the sur
Story ideas? Questions? Comments? face E.CEliSw?
E-mailusatgamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com 8
Fashions from
’60s movement
make comeback
BY MEG MOORE
THE GAMECOCK
The age of the eternal hipster
is again upon us. From short
skirts and shocks of color to flat
heeled boots and plastic bangles,
the fashion elite threw it all into
their fall collections. As the au
tumn retail season brings
sweaters to the shelves and wool
skirts to the racks, a more prac
tical version of the Avengers-style
aesthetic has appeared in store
ads and window displays.
Unlike the catwalk-supported
return of the high-waisted pant,
the mod look appears to be re
ceiving modern approval from
mall-shopping Americans. And
understandably so — what girl
hasn’t been yearning for a work
able way of wearing minis in the
winter (with bright tights), fun
accessories and funky, foot
friendly flats?
The mod era originated as a
youth movement that exploded
in London during the 1960s.
Mods were cultural rebels, and
they became iconic for their dis
tinctive, impeccably tailored
fashions. They embraced
American R&B and soul-infused
music, bringing a new sound to
the clubs of London. The group
adopted the term modernist —
shortened to Mod — to reflect its
fast-paced world and cutting
edge style.
During the era, designers and
architects began looking toward
the future, envisioning space-age
buildings and spinning space in
vader-suited garb. They infused
their designs with bold colors and
graphics, simplifying silhouettes
and rounding-off structures.
Clothes became sleeker, fitted, eye
catching but streamlined — per
fect for turning heads while rid
ing one’s scooter down city streets.
With hipsters stalking the
sidewalks, the mod movement in
evitably infiltrated other facets
of the creative life, manifesting
its bright charm in movies, art
and music. Films such as
“Blowup” explored the era’s
styles and mind set:
Andy Warhol turned
pop art into a phe
nomenon by painting
and becoming one of
the period’s icons.
Ironically — or
perhaps fittingly,
considering the
movement’s subcul
ture origins — the
Mod craze died down,
partially because of its
commercialization.
Today’s innovators are re
visiting all things mod, both in
their new creations and their re
vivals of era favorites. They are
stepping outside the fashion
world to reincarnate old trends.
For example, within the trans
portation industry, the Mini re
mains the ultimate hipster car;
old versions have been re
vamped, and new models are hot
sellers. Vespas have also re
emerged as a chic way to get
around.
The music and movie indus
tries have also responded to the
revival of the Mod craze. While
bands such as the ,
^ PHOTO BY MORGAN FORD/THFCAMECOCI^
Hipster cars from the mod movement
such as the redesigned Volkswagon
Beetle are racing back to the streets.
Who, the Kinks and the Animals
originally spearheaded the move
ment’s music scene, new groups
including the Hives and the
White Stripes are currently re
vamping the modernist style.
Hollywood scored summer suc
cess with the ’60s-themed block
buster “Down With Love.” The
film captured the same sly spirit
as the romantic comedies of old
starring Rock Hudson and Doris
Day.
Within the confines of the cat
walking world, many designers
have latched onto popular styles
of the era. As usual, the trend
most vividly evidences itself in
the women’s fall collections,
as models were dressed in
\ turtlenecks and mini
dresses; Fab Four-es
™ que fashions found
their way onto the
men’s
runway.
Marc Jacobs
went for circle
pockets and
bright hues;
Tommy Hilfiger
took the same
mod styles and
subdued them in
creams and dark
_ neutrals. Mini
H skirts got even
shorter, color
schemes grew even louder
and store buyers quickly
placed their orders for the Mod
season to come.
As with any easily recogniz
able trend, the wearer must know
when enough is enough; this sea
son’s fashions should be worn
with “Mod”-eration. The rainbow
color palette and plastic baubles
should not become one’s uniform,
but should be worn for added
flair. Nothing screams “fashion
victim” like completely changing
your day-to-day look every sea
son in accordance with the latest
ads in Elle. Arguably less fun but
certainly more reliable, men’s col
lections generally showcase more
invariable fashions. Staples are
always featured, even on the run
way. Falling victim to the latest
trends is therefore less of a haz
ard, yet the compulsive male
shopper remains — those multi
ple pairs of Beatles’ style boots
will not prove to be an enduring
investment.
Watch reruns of “The Mod
Squad,” read a book on Warhol
and look to your favorite ’60s
icons — or Austin Powers — for
further inspiration. From the leg
endary Carnaby Street to the cur
rent season’s catwalk, Twiggy
and company are having yet an
other 15 minutes of fame. Take a
step back this fall into the smash
ing era of all things Mod.
Comments on this story?E-mail
gamecockmixeditor@hotmail.com
MOVIE REVIEW
Indie film fails to outdo big-budget Hollywood
“XX/XY”
Austin Chick
★★ out of
BY GRAHAM CULBERTSON
AND HILARY SCHRAMM
THE GAMECOCK
“This is definitely not a film
you’d see at Dutch Square,” the
Nickelodeon Theatre employee
assured us as he handed us our
tickets with a smile. And really,
maybe that’s all that can be said
for Austin Chick’s new indepen
dent film “XX/XY.”
It is not, as its title implies, a
film about men and women, or
even a film about a man and a
woman. At first glance, it appears
to be a study of college relation
ships, following the on-again, o£f
again sexual escapades of three
people at Sarah Lawrence
College.
/The two main characters,
Coles (Mark Ruffalo) and Sam
(Maya Strange), first interact
when Coles spies Sam in a New
York subway. Later, he shows up
at a party, flirts with Sam and
ends up in a threesome with Sam
and her counter-culture friend
Thea (Kathleen Robertson). And
so begins Coles’ stormy relation
ship with Sam.
This is Chick’s first feature
film, and it shows. Not only does
the audience not know where
the grungy protagonist came
from nor how the struggling an
imator chose Sam as his seem
ingly arbitrary love interest, but
the audience is left completely
in the dark as to how*their rela
tionship develops — and that’s
literally in the dark.
Although white letters pro
claim “Sarah Lawrence College”
and “Fall 1993” in the introduc
tion, every scene seems to take
place in a different dark, ran
dom, unidentified locale — from
Coles’ studio to what appears to
be an underground pool and
then to various other apart
ments so dimly lit that the audi
ence could
not tell
them apart
from each
other, let
alone as
cribe owner
ship to
them.
i nt: 111 si
half of the film follows Coles and
Sam, from “Fall” to “Winter” and,
you guessed it, “Spring,” as they
alternately have sex with each
other, have sex with others and
fight about sex. There are no tran
sitions between these seenes so
The new independent
film explores college
relationships and sexual
deviance, but falls short
of innovative plot lines.
the viewers are left to determine
why Sam and Coles think they
are in love and
whyTheahassex
with her friend
and roommate
Sid. She then
blows him off.
And finally,
why Thea and
Coles have sex
wiui eauii uuiei
in front of both Sid and Sam. For
whatever reason, this is appar
ently the last straw for Sam, and
the first half of the film merciful
ly ends. Then the film jumps
ahead 10 jtears to “The Present
Day.” '
The present day scenes fea
ture solid acting from Petra
Wright as Coles’ current girl
friend, Claire, and include a
short but solid performance from
David Thornton as Thea’s
husband, Miles.
However, there is still no rea
son for the audience to care
about Coles, Thea and the re
cently returned Sam, who is
back from an extended stay in
England. Rather than lift the film
out of its dismal slump, Wright’s
excellent acting and emotional
maturity merely highlight the
film’s many shortcomings, pri
marily her co-star’s'lack of
depth.
Chick has attempted to create
a postmodern dating story, but
the result is an emotionally vac
uous mess, complete with rapidly
changing sex partners, spotty
character motivations and an
ending that manages to be both
solidly downbeat and open
ended.
In the end, “XX/XY” serves
best as a reminder that indepen
dent films at the Nickelodeon
can be just as poor as the latest
big-budget offerings at local
theatres.
r
Comments on this story?E-mail
gamecockmixeditor(uihotmau.com
PHOTO SPECIAL TO THE GAMECOCK
Characters in Austin Chick’s “XX/XY” engage in various sexual escapades throughout three
seasons at Sarah Lawrence College.
CD REVIEW
‘Lonely’
album
thrives in
melody ‘
“LONELINESS KNOWS MY NAME”
Patrick Park
★★★* outof'fr-fr'&'friir
BY BEN ANGSTADT
THE GAMECOCK
Loneliness and feelings of in
adequacy are two aspects of life
most people would prefer to ig
nore ; Patrick Park, however,
chooses to embrace these reali
ties of existence rather than shy
away from them.
Fortunately, his debut album,
“Loneliness Knows My Name,”
avoids becoming mired in self
pity as Park creates a sort of
melodic despair without the
drudgery of dreary vocals and de
pressive lyrics. Rather, he relies
on his top-notch songwriting abil
ity and folk-rock influences to ru
minate about his sadness.
These sensitive works come
from a seemingly unlikely
source: Park, a Colorado native, 4
was once a bouncer and earned a
black belt in martial arts.
Park’s style undoubtedly fol
lows in the vein of classic folk
artists. His instrumentation is
reminiscent of Bob Dylan, and
his high-register vocals recall
Neil Young, but more subtle in
fluences can be heard throughout
the album. Most interesting is the
striking resemblance between
Park’s voice and that of a young
Jackson Browne.
His talents rightfully place him
alongside similarly influenced
contemporaries like Pete Yorn,
Duncan Sheik, Ryan Adams and
the late Jeff Buckley. Thankfully,
he still finds an original sound de
spite the obvious similarities he 1
shares with these artists.
Park demonstrates his ability
for diverse songwriting right
from the album’s start. The open
ing track, “Thunderbolt,” starts
off with a Dylan-esque harmonica
and Park’s appropriately under
stated guitar.
The next track, “Honest
Skrew,” picks up the pace,
adding piano, drums, and heav
ier guitar lines to tell the story of
a shallow relationship without
any emotional interaction.
Despite the less-than-upbeat top
ic, though, Park manages to keep
the listener involved with a driv
ing beat and strong, confident vo
-
On “Nothing’s Wrong,” Park
explicitly states “loneliness
knows my name,” and his choices
in instrumentation set a perfect
tone for the song. The snare drum
brushes and the whining steel
guitar seem like they could be
straight from an old Western and
fit perfectly with Park’s regrets
over the mistakes that have left
him alone in life.
The next track, “Your Smile’s
a Drug,” shows yet another influ
ence, as the guitar line and words
sound like they would fit just as
well on a James Taylor album. In
“Something Pretty,” Park wish
es for a break from struggles in
life as he says, “I know ugliness,
now show me something pretty.”
“Past Poisons” is one of the al
bum’s stronger tracks. Park sings
in a high falsetto set to a waltz-like,
pace and conveys the desperation'
of his lover who refuses to face
her inner demons. The Stevie Ray
Vaughn style guitar solos and an
gry chorus vocals, however, de
pict his resentment of her hesita
tions, as he angrily shouts that
meanwhile he will be putting his
own “past poisons to sleep.”
“Bullets by the Door” and
“Home for Now” round out the al
bum and end it on a high note.
Park reveals that despite his
♦ LONELINESS, SEE PAGE 9