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I By JORDAN REDMOND WUSC Music Director Panthers Things are Strange (Vice) Once upon a time rock-n-roll meant rebellion. Blaring guitars and gyrating hips were a truly liberating force, but then came commodification and arenas and rock was robbed of its righteous fury. Panthers is a band that heralds a return to the sex and danger that imbues rock-n-roll with its primal allure. But far be it from these Brooklyn & boys to accept the “saviors of rock” moniker; Panthers is a band much more interested in the dissemination of ideas rather than distribution of their single to your local homogenous Clear Channel radio station. Vocalist Jayson Green is an unabashed theory-head and channels his love for modern philosophy into Panthers’ lyrical content. It certainly is a bit unsettling to come across references to Foucault, Deleuze and Baudrillard in the context of rock music, but the change is welcomed in place of the typical slop about girls and drinking. Despite the bookish content, Green situates theory within his experiences, in particular, being involved within a progressive, non-monogamous relationship for nearly three years. On “Stroke My Genius,” Green muses, “I think it’s normal to be unfaithful. That’s just the way it goes.” Indeed, many Panthers songs read like a discourse on sex and existing outside the traditional, hegemonic relationship structure. Musically, Panthers creates a tidal wave of rock-n roll bombast, tempered with passages of pensive distortion. Tracks like “Weird Birds” and “Walk Of Shame” exude the feeling one would get from viewing one of Carravaggio’s chiaroscuros being torn-and-tattered by a rioting Situationist. All nine songs on “Things Are Strange” are equally full of brains and brawn, borrowing from the early ’70s psychedelic rock-n soul movement and Fugazi’s jagged, tuneful post-hardcore. Panthers’ marriage of cerebral rpck-n-roll to social/political theory and convention challenging ideas is a truly rare characteristic. With the release of “Things Are Strange”, maybe we can all get down and make love in theory as well as practice. ■INTERPOLANTICS I:I Interpol Antics (Matador) Everyone’s favorite black-clad New York quartet is back with its second full-length foray. After the wildly popular 2001 debut, “Turn on the Bright Lights,” hype surrounding Interpol is at an all-time high. And if there was any doubt about the band’s status as the new “it” band, Interpol-inspired stores have recently opened in New York, Los Angeles and London. These stores curated by friends of the band will sell Interpol merchandise, including rare singles as well as clothes and art inspired by the group’s brand of somber indie rock. Amongst all the fanfare ■ and expectation, “Antics” arrives and presents itself as a record that seeks to expand and surpass the sound laid down on their maiden outing. Don’t let the title fool you, “Antics” doesn’t pull a 180 degree turn from what Interpol fans know and love; there’s certainly no breezy pop songs about puppies and sunshine. “Antics” does however exude a lighter atmosphere. The songs are more expansive, delving into long periods of guitar interplay that, if you listen closely enough, twinkle and shine. The willingness to branch out has sacrificed a bit of Interpol’s mostly dour tone, but sad kids, don t despair (anymore than normal, that is), there are plenty of evocative, desolate moments. Paul Banks vocals are as haunting and ethereal as ever. His voice paints a picture of pitch-black, steamy city streets on a brisk November night. The rest of the gang are also still up to their old tricks. Guitarist Dan Kessler concocts oppressively dark and heavy sounds and Carlos D s bass lines suggest doing mischievous things subtly into your ear. All 10 tracks on “Antics” are versatile, capable of arousing sulking coffeehouse-dwellers into dancing against their solemn wills or serving as the soundtrack to a night at home curled up in your empty apartment with J.D. Salinger. < t| Holmes shines as ‘First Daughter’ By NANCY MILLS KRT CAMPUS The gossip-mongers had just reported that “Dawson’s Creek” star Katie Holmes had told her fiancee, actor Chris Klein, “I need more space,” and thus they were splitting up. Turns out they were discussing buying a house. “People talk about you, and what can you do?” Holmes shrugs. *It’s like high school times one thousand.” The celebrity spotlight also shines on her character in “First Daughter,” which opened Friday. Playing President Michael Keaton’s only child, she has to cope with Secret Servicemen guarding her college dorm room, reporters chasing her around campus and students more interested in her title than who she is. “Being in the public eye can be. isolating,” Holmes said. “It’s hard to make friends easily. That’s why I’m always on the phone with my family, trying not to think about my image. “Part of being the youngest (of four) is that I was born with the courage to stand out because everyone else had done it already,” she said. “I had to find something different.” Holmes’ image is squeaky clean, though she protests that it’s not wholly accurate. She grew up in Toledo, Ohio, the daughter of a lawyer and a homemaker, snagged her first movie, “The Ice Storm,” while still in high school, and then landed on “Dawson’s Creek.” As Joey Potter, the lovelorn tomboy and best friend of James Van Der Beek’s Dawson Leery, Holmes spent six years in Wilmington, N.C., where the show was shot. Their very teenage relationship formed the emotional hook of the popular series. “It was very difficult for me to leave Wilmington, to have my little glass bubble burst and move on,” she said. “I hate change. On the other hand, it was refreshing to play someone else.” That someone else is the president’s daughter — poised and awkward, obedient and defiant, gullible and wise. “Kate is still accessible to young girls, but she’s truly a woman,” said her “First Daughter” director, Forest Whitaker. “She’s someone people care about and want to follow. She’s not afraid to make fun of herself, and she has good comic timing.” The movie gives Holmes a chance to play an American princess, complete with beautiful dresses, ballroom dancing and happy endings. But it’s also a topical story, she said. “With all the attention on Chelsea Clinton and the Bush girls, it’s a great background for the coming of age of a young girl,” she said “But this is much more of a girl’s journey toward independence than ‘First Daughter Goes to College.’” Holmes, who got engaged to Klein last Christmas, has already taken that journey. “I didn’t have the experience of going to college,” she said. “But for six years on ‘Dawson’s Creek,’ I was in a high pressure situation by myself, without having family around. That caused me to be less dependent on others.” PHOTO COURTESY OF KRT CAMPUS Former Dawson’s Creek star Katie Flolmes expands her acting resume as the "First Daughter" in the new movie about the college life of the president’s daughter. Her wholesome image appeals to both teens and older movie-goers. Flolmes is engaged to actor Chris Klein. The Gamecock is now online five days a week www.dailygamecock.com Hang up your hat. And put up Feet. 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