The gamecock. (Columbia, S.C.) 1908-2006, February 02, 2005, Page 11, Image 11
CD REVIEW
Indie-pop band channels Smith ’y spirit
“TREBLE & TREMBLE”
i Earlimart
★★★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆
By PATRICK AUGUSTINE
THE GAMECOCK
On its fourth proper full-length
album, California-based bedroom-pop
group Earlimart refines its Elliott Smith
and Grandaddy-influenced sound into
an album worthy of a sun-streaked
Sunday afternoon spent under the
covers.
Earlimart front man and producer
Aaron Espinoza has long been on
friendly terms with underground
luminaries Jim Fairchild of
Grandaddy, producer Scott
McPherson and Elliott Smith, who
Espinoza said in a news release lived
“about 20 feet from his house.” It is
^ clear that Smith’s violent ending and
turbulent life had a great impact on
Espinoza personally as he wrote
“Treble & Tremble,” and Smith’s
influence courses through the 13 tracks
nearly in the understated way that the
late indie singer-songwriter honed his
own artistic craft. Despite vocal styling
and chord changes that immediately
invoke Smith, Espinoza and company
manage to guide Earlimart to its own
voice, something that 2003’s two
releases, “The Avenues LP” and
“Everywhere Down Here,” hinted at
but failed to fully deliver.
“Treble & Tremble” is essentially a
record about love and loss. Like all
good treatises on the agony of living, it
has its lilting, up-and-down moments.
Strangely, and undoubtedly
intentionally, the lead track, “Hold
On, Slow Down,” is a hushed, piano
driven affair that mirrors Espinoza’s
spot-on vocal mimicry of Smith, and
sets the overall tenor of the album. The
band never allows itself to get caught
up in the mystery of the themes it
explores. Instead, the band lets the
craftsmanship of its studio time slowly
envelop the listener, a la emotional
cold fusion. While evocative,
Espinoza’s vocals are neither obvious
nor mired in overreaching artistic
darkness. Conscious of the limits
imposed by his singing abilities,
Espinoza instead filters his voice to
good effect instead of conceding defeat
like The Mountain Goats’ John
Darnielle.
“Hold On, Slow Down” also
showcases the unobtrusively compulsive
production that is Espinoza’s
watermark, with distorted strings and
tape noise filtering in from the top to lap
over the hollow vocals. Ironically, the
opening affair bookends nicely with the
album’s second and most accessible
number, which any other band would
have picked as an opener.
Not until the fourth track does
Earlimart settle down to its recognizable
formula of distorted electric guitar
coupled with Espinoza’s breathy
delivery and acoustic guitar plus an
effortless mixture of loops, synths and
effects. This is not to say that Earlimart
ever becomes predictable at any point
during “Treble & Tremble”’s 43
minutes. Interludes like “808 Crickets”
and “The Valley People” are not simply
segue between disparate musical
statements, but the mortar that holds an
entire work together.
Fans of Elliott Smith can rest in the
fact that his legacy isn’t lost, but instead
lives on in new and inventive w^ys so
long as- Earlimart continues to tour and
record. “Treble & Tremble” is a
decidedly slow-burner that takes a few
spins to fully reveal it’s beauty, but it
could embarrass a record by Britney or
Ashlee any day with its carefully
wrought sonic textures.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecockfeatures@givm.sc.edu
MOVIE REVIEW
‘Hotel Rwanda ’ reveals haunting flj
tale of genocide, world detachment ™
“HOTEL RWANDA”
★★★★★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆
By TODD GREEN
THE GAMECOCK
^ Terry George’s “Hotel Rwanda” is a
film about ^ a modern-day Oscar
Schindler. Paul Rusesabagina, played by
Don Cheadle, is able to save more than
1,000 Rwandan Tutsis from genocide
because of his skills as a hotel manager.
“Hotel Rwanda” is based on a true story.
Rwanda is inhabited primarily by two
tribes, the Hutus and the Tutsis. Rwanda
was colonized by Belgium in 1919. Under
Belgian rule, the majority of power was
given to the Tutsi, who actually make up
the minority, and for years many Hutus
were treated poorly. Civil war broke out
in Rwanda in 1994, and more than 1
million Tutsi men, women and children
were killed by the Hutus.
The movie does not focus primarily
on the actual acts of violence, but rather
shows the chaos and fear surrounding the
lives of the characters. It shows a
► stumbling, ineffective bureaucracy
comprised of the United Nations,
European countries and the united States
refusing to intervene. Their biggest
concern is to get white people out of the
country — not to stop genocide.
Cheadle’s character, Paul
Rusesabagina, is a Hutu married to a
Tutsi, and is manager of the Hotel Des
Milles Collines, a four-star Belgian resort.
The hotel often entertains political and
military guests. Cheadle’s character
makes himself popular by lavishing
expensive gifts to the generals, politicians
and the U.N. contingent to keep the
peace. He knows there might be a time
when he is in a position to ask for favors.
When the war breaks out,
Rusesabagina makes it to the hotel with
his fanlily, several neighbors and about
1,200 other Tutsis seeking protection,
including many on the hotel staff. Paul’s
only hope is to keep the Hutu military
from attacking the hotel and killing the
1,200 Tutsi “cockroaches” inside.
Cheadle plays an absolutely desperate
man in an impossible situation, but he is
somehow able to remain calm and
collected enough to run a hotel and
protect his family. He is able to convince
the Hutu military that the hotel must
remain protected, and here is where he
must call in every favor he can possibly
think of. It works, but only for a while.
Nick Nolte plays the U.N.’s Col.
Oliver. He knows the situation is
madness. He wants to help, but the
U.N. and other world governments
refuse to give him authority to fight.
His eyes and facial expressions tell Paul
that he does not think this will end
well.
Joaquin Phoenix plays a
photographer, Jack, who helps capture
some of the images that would
document the genocide. One of the
film’s most chilling moments comes
when he tells Paul that people around
the world would see the pictures, be
shocked but essentially write it off as
being somewhere else in the world —
basically not affecting them enough to
want to do anything about it.
In another powerful moment,
European troops come, but not to save
the Tutsis. They have come to evacuate
the European, i.e. white, guests of the
hotel. This leaves Paul and the Tutsis in
the hotel even more exposed.
The film’s most moving element
comes in the form of Paul’s
relationship with his wife, Tatiana,
played by Sophie Okonedo. They are a
dynamic force in each other’s lives and
their interaction is extraordinary.
Cheadle’s most brilliant moment
comes when he has just seen something
awful. He is back at the hotel, and
cannot tie his necktie because his hands
are shaking so badly.
“Hotel Rwanda” is a very moving
film, and it should be required viewing
for any hotel, restaurant and tourism
management student.
Comments on this story? E-mail
gamecockfeatnres@gwm.sc. edu
Teach-in to suggest
SAFER alternatives
BySHANA TILL
THE GAMECOCK
As part of USC’s V-Day activities, a
teach-in will be offered Friday for
students interested in improving the
school’s sexual assault response.
Students Active For Ending Rape
(SAFER), a national nonprofit
organization devoted to ending sexual
violence on college campuses, will
conduct the teach-in.
The teach-in will give an
introduction to USC’s sexual assault
policy, and the SAFER trainer will lead
a discussion focusing on how students
can change their policy to challenge the
underlying causes of sexual violence.
Ashley Burczak, executive director of
SAFER, will lead Friday’s two-to-three
hour presentation. She said SAFER was
created at Columbia University after
students realized how poor the current
policy was. Columbia U’s rape crisis
center offered few prevention efforts,
and there was insufficient funding and
staff. SAFER’s founding members also
noticed a lack
of reporting on sexual violence in their
campus publications.
Burczak said SAFER built a grass
roots student movement convincing
schools to improve their policies. After
receiving attention for their efforts,
other schools wanted to get involved.
Burczak and SAFER go all over the
country to train students in how they
can improve their schools’ attitudes
about sexual violence prevention.
“We bring in a copy of USC’s sexual
assault policy, which most students
have never seen, and we find its good
points and bad points,” she said. “We
discuss how it can be improved and
focus on setting five goals.”
Some of Burczak’s and students’
goals include: working to get a rape
crisis center in place (USC has one),
find more funding for prevention
efforts, hire more staff for sexual
violence education and improve
disciplinary policies at the school.
“My goal is to make a
transformation in society by working
with local communities, who can make
changes that — when made in enough
communities — will make a large
impact, affecting people’s attitudes and
ultimately reduce the incidence of
sexual violence,” Burczak said.
The teach-in, which will be held at
Gambrell Auditorium room 153,
Friday Feb. 4 from 6 to 8 p.m., is
sponsored by the Women’s Students
Association, in conjunction with the
ongoing V-Day Campaign to end
violence against women.
The event is open to the public, and
there will be free pizza, cookies and
drinks.
Interested students can meet at
Flinn Hall on Saturday from 10 a.m. to
3 p.m. to take the next step in making
USC a safer campus. Lunch will be
included. Both events are free and open
to all students.
For more information or to sign up,
contact Gabrielle Sinclair at
pregenius42@yahoo.com.
For information about SAFER,
check out www.safercampus.org.
Comments on this story ? E-mail
gamecockfeatures@gwm.sc.edu
) ‘Simpsons’ plans
* half-time snow
\ By FRAZIER MOORE
: \ AP TELF.VISION WRITER
V NEW YORK — Good
heavens! Ned Flanders has
come into his own. A zealous
W instrument of God, Ned has long been
I instrumental to “The Simpsons” as it
a lampoons organized religion (that is,
■ when not mocking virtually every
111 other human institution, from
Hft business to democracy to its own TV
9B network).
But lately the ground has shifted
H beneath the Simpsons’ hometown
I of Springfield, U.S.A., along with
HB the rest of the nation. The new term
has begun for a president
1 whose re-election was
clinched by the “moral values” ballyhoo. The
current climate finds faith synonymous with
patriotism, while “secular” is code for un-American.
Before on “The Simpsons,” Ned was a
secondary figure - Homer’s doyingly pious next
door neighbor. But the values he embodies in
exaggerated form now monopolize the political
scene. In fact, one might say that Homer is Ned’s
next-door neighbor, not the other way around, so
clearly does Ned bask in the mainstream.
“The values he represents have become more
visible in American life,” agrees “Simpsons”
executive producer A1 Jean, “as people who maybe
are outward advocates of Ned’s values have come
into positions of power. We always satirize who’s in
power and what the cultural Zeitgeist is, so currently
the point of view Ned has is a little more ripe for
♦ Please see SIMPSONS, page 12
I WARNING: I
Read This BEFORE Filing Your Tax Return!!! 1
Top 8 Reasons for Choosing The TAX SOURCE To Professionally Prepare and
Electronically File Your Tax Return This Year:_I
I^^Accountiriqi&TAXSourc^ricr^SoS-SOQ-ISg^* I
v-.'s -j a’\\4s44 '>•- -
Your Neighborhood
Restaurant and Tavern
- Since 1977 -
• After the Game, Show or Concert
• Free P.M. Delivery to USC Housing
• Late Night Menu
• Fresh Home Cooking
• Daily Blue Plate Specials
• Located in the Heart of Five Points
• Trolley Stop at Front Door
• Free Parking in Lot
• Designated To-Go Parking
• Large Parties Welcome (please call ahead)
• Catering for Meetings or Events
i
Saturday night TWO-FOR ONE APPETIZERS with USC Basketball ticket stub!
Sunday - Thursday
11:15 a.m.-midnight
Friday - Saturday
11:15 a.m.-1:00 a.m.
2030 Devine Street
799-0196 (To go) @ fjve points
799-0049 (Catering) www.yesterdayssc.com