Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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CD REVIEW ‘Satan ’ channels different Stripes “GET BEHIND THE MAN" The White Stripes ★★★★ out of ☆☆☆☆☆ By chas McCarthy FOR THE GAMECOCK It’s been two years since “Elephant” rocked the socks off the music industry, and Jack and Meg continue to surpass their contemporaries by making a creative leap on “Get Behind Me Satan.” Besides being recorded on pre Beatles-era equipment (and in one week, no less) “Satan” isn’t typical Stripes. Sonically, Jack’s blistering guitar licks are abandoned on most of the album for heavy doses of piano and marimba, and, to the listener’s delight, it works. Meg still beats up on her drums (she can keep time quite well, too, boys), but Jack’s muse is significandy different this time around. Instead of channeling the emotion and themes of musical forefathers Son House, Bob Dylan and Led Zeppelin, White sings about his own life, including a vindictive number alluding to a relationship gone sour with actress Renee Zellweger, “Forever For Her (Is Over For Me).” There are plenty of other tracks to remember on “Satan,” as Jack invokes the Jackson Five on “My Doorbell” and “The Denial Twist,” swoons about 1940s love goddess Rita Hayworth on “White Moon” and “Take, Take, Take” and borrows a riff from the Rolling Stones on “As Ugly As I Seem.” Admittedly, this effort won’t draw any new fans. But who needs ’em? The Stripes are still leading the charge in a new golden era for rock ’n’ roll. Comments on this story ? E-mail gamecockfeatures@gw771.sc. edit ■ MIDTOWN Continued from page 6 pick and choose their rock battles. Opting for Interpol and the White Stripes seemed to be more appropriate, and both bands proved to be a one-two haymaker to the mouth. Interpol’s romantically dark riffs and pulsating rhythms were the perfect precursor for the balls-out, blues-rock brouhaha of the Stripes. Friday night would be tough to top. Saturday afternoon it rained like hell, but that didn’t seem to bother fans or the bands. This is partly because Midtowners could return to the sanctity of hot shower water and clean bed sheets instead of the porta-Johns and cow pastures of Bonnaroo (but that’s personal preference there). 1 he night dosed with tour big names on four different stages: Alan Jackson, Black Eyed Peas, The Pixies and Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. A choice had to be made. Mary Jane asked me to dance. 1 said yes. And though the rain relentlessly beat the band in its collective face, Tom Petty and his fellow Heartbreakers tore the house down with two hours of some of the best rock ‘n’ roll ever written — end of story. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecockfeatures@gwm.sc. edu ■ ‘SMITH’ Continued from page 6 < Because of the publicity, the question was whether tabloid rumors would hurt or help the movie at the box office. But after earning twice as much money as was originally projected, “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” killed the competition with an obviously successful opening weekend. Beginning with John (Pitt) and Jane (Jolie) in a counseling session, the film automatically sets the tone of their marriage — misunderstanding and misrnmmnnirarinn Flachincr back to their initial, random meeting and whirlwind courtship, the movie then reverts to present day to a portrait of a seemingly happy suburban couple who eat their dinner in silence and leave in the morning for their jobs in the city. But unlike most married couples, John and Jane are both secret assassins whose identities and jobs are secret even from each other. However, when both John and Jane are assigned to the same target, Benjamin Diaz (played by the boyishly charming Adam Brody from TV’s “The O.C.”), the hit goes sour, and they are forced to find out the identity of the other assassin. Once they discover this, the agents must kill that person to keep their own identities safe. But John and Jane soon find out the person who botched the plan happens to be their spouse and are forced to reconcile their feelings for each other to save themselves. Although director Doug Liman (the man who helmed “The Bourne Identity”) balances action and comedy, the plot sags along the way and seems to be robotically following a pattern. After the Smiths’ initial introduction and their first meeting, eacn cnaracter is siowiy revealed, alternating between John’s and Jane’s hidden life and job. While the film is entertaining and has some steamy fight scenes between John and Jane, there is a point when one must ask oneself, “how many times and ways can you try to kill someone?” Although there are times in the movie when stale dialogue and overused plot twists are evident, overall “Mr. and Mrs. Smith” is entertaining, offering a little bit of everything for everyone. Comments on this story? E-mail gamecockfeatures@gwm.sc. edu USC's Totally NEW Off-Campus Housing Site 0 Searchable Off-Campus Housing Listings 0 Pictures & Maps 0 Email/Web Site Links 0 Roommate Listings 0 Furniture to buy/sell 0 Summer sublets to list for rent www.sa.sc.eilu/offcampus