The Rice Thresher, Vol. 93, No. 22, Ed. 1 Friday, March 10, 2006 Page: 9 of 20
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m'MUL
THE RICE THRESHER ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT FRIDAY,
MARCH 10,2006
OSCAR mi i,i«)i < II
Best Picture produces
Oscars' worst call
I used to write a column like
this every week. I stopped at
the end of last semester be-
cause I was finished with pop
culture. It had saturated every
corner of my life, and
I was determined to
break free.
I vowed to never
pick up Us Weekly
again. I told myself
that no matter how
curious I was, the
gender of Brad and
Angelina's baby was
simply none of my
business. And gay
cowboys? Well, I love
gay cowboys, but do
people really want to read 750
words about how much I love
gay cowboys? Probably not.
But here I go anyway. I knew
it would take a catastrophic
event to get me writing again,
and it happened at the Oscars
Sunday night.
The academy played it safe
throughout the night, send-
ing statues home with the
predictable choices — George
Clooney, Rachel Weisz, Reese
Witherspoon and Philip Sey-
mour Hoffman. But something
went terribly awry with the big
prize: Best Picture went to direc-
tor Paul Haggis' Crash.
Wait a second, isn't there
something wrong with this?
Critics found it mediocre at
best. Audiences came, but in
small herds, not droves. It's not
like Crash was a cultural phe-
nomenon or anything. Speaking
of phenomena, what happened
to that gay cowboy movie
everyone has been talking so
much about?
Critics across the country
predicted director Ang Lee's
Brokeback Mountain would
take home the top award. So
the moment Jack Nicholson
announced Crash, I was frozen
on my couch. I immediately
began wondering how this
could have happened.
If real life
worked like
this, then
every missed
connection on
CRAIG'S LIST
would end in a
hot date.
Maybe Nicholson read the
wrong name. He is looking a
bit old these days, and those
silly sunglasses would make
it difficult for any of us. Or
maybe the vote totals got
mixed up. I know we trust ac-
countants with our taxes, but
are the CPAs of PriceWater-
houseCooper really equipped
for the hefty task of Oscar vot-
ing? Where are the foolproof
super-computers?
I suppose there is a simpler
answer: Maybe Oscar voters
really did choose Crash over
Brokeback. But it is hard to
believe that anyone could
prefer the histrionic Crash.
My problem is not so much
with the film's content or
message, although I think it
is too harsh on its characters
and that its view of the world
is too bleak. My problem is
with the execution.
Haggis links his multiple
narratives together through a
string of forced coincidences.
Jonathan
Schumann
If real life worked like this,
then every missed connection
on Craig's List would end in
a hot date. If a film is going
to work, it cannot be as con-
trived as this year's
"best" picture.
Now compare
this film's plot and
cultural impact to
Brokeback, which is
a landmark film even
without the Oocar. It
is the first of its size
and pedigree to por-
tray love between
two men without the
offensive Hollywood
stereotypes audi-
ences have come to know. For
Jack and Ennis to get the same
classy romantic treatment as
Scarlet and Rhett is a ground-
breaking achievement.
It would take
a catastrophic
event to get
ME writing
again, and it
happened at
the Oscars
Sunday night.
Brokeback is also one of the
rare films to step outside of the
realm of entertainment and into
the greater culture. Its subject
matter made it a topic of con-
versation in all areas.
Despite how many jokes
we have heard over the past
few months, and no matter
what people thought about the
controversy Heath ledger and
Jake Gyllenhaal caused, Broke-
back facilitated a dialogue that
otherwise would not have
occurred. To me, this is what
cinema does at its best.
So why didn't the academy
give I>ee's masterpiece the nod?
If I were really cynical, I would
say the voters looked at their
line-up of socially-conscious
films — which also included
George Clooney's Good Night,
and Good Luck and Steven Spiel-
berg's Munich — and picked
the least offensive title. No
commentator on Fox News or
'lite Rush Limbaugh Show is go-
ing to argue that the academy's
choice was too liberal. Everyone
can agree that racism is still a
very prevalent issue.
But where does that hot, hot
cowboy lovin' stand? As inane
as it seems to many of us, that
debate is still open, and by not
slathering on the praise Sunday
night, the academy declined to
take a side. And beyond the
social currency of all of this,
let's not forget that Brokeback
was more successful commer-
cially — it made much more
money — and artistically — it
received much better reviews
and won almost every other
film award this year.
With the awards finally over
like a bad hangover, the Magno-
lia Electric Co.'s twangy ballad
"Hard to I>ove a Man" may sum
it up best. 'Hie song's opening
sound, that of a male voice
warbling the line, "It's hard to
love a man," seems to define
the film, the cultural Zeitgeist
and my current relationship
with Oscar.
Jonathan Schumann is a Baker
College senior and former arts
and entertainment editor.
I'OIAR row I k
Arctic Monkeys produce lukewarm CD
Bryce Gray
THRESHER EDITORIAL STAFF
The music industry is built
on hype. Record label executives
buy summer houses in San Diego
with checks signed "Hype." MTV
video jockeys worship at an altar
of hype every weekday afternoon.
Struggling garage-band drummers
wake up sweating in their KISS
pajamas, dreaming of being part
of the hype. And hype returns
the favor with bands like the UK's
Arctic Monkeys.
Svhatever people say i
am, that's what i'm not*
arctic monkeys
rating ★★★offive
The Arctic Monkeys, a four-
piece rock set, did not invent this
culture of propaganda and press
releases. But they do stand to ben-
efit from the "flavor of the month"
nature of the current pop music
industry: They have been lauded
with the usual flattery and labeled
"the next best thing out of Sheffield,
South Yorkshire since ...
"Since the last mediocre thing
to come out of Sheffield, South
Yorkshire," should have ended
that unmerited critical acclaim.
But American entertainment
propagandists were still ready
to hand the Arctic Monkeys the
keys to the country even before
they had two singles released in
the United States.
To the band's credit, there
does not seem to be much pos-
turing on Whatever People Say
I Am, That's What I'm Not. The
Arctic Monkeys' music is as honest
and straightforward as the band's
look—refreshingly unpretentious,
the Arctic Monkeys are content to
appear in T-shirts and jeans, their
hair shorn short.
The musicianship is impeccable;
the bloated "Perhaps Vampires Is
a Bit Strong But ..." allows each
member of the band to show off
his chops. A lot of rock stars use
guitars as expensive props, but
these kids know their way around
their Gibsons.
While listeners will finish
Whatever People Say I Am with
a full serving of hotheaded old-
fashioned rock, the band's sound
is not exactly original. They do not
deviate from the standard formula
of two guitars, bass and drums.
Still, these lads play with a maturity
that belies their age.
Lead singer Alex Turner is
See MONKEYS, page 10
Texas country music abounds in Houston
Nathan Bledsoe
THRESHER EDITORIAL STAFF
Tattoo-laden with hair nearing his waist, Cody Canada
looks more like a punk rocker than a cowboy — until he
opens his mouth and the panhandle drawl surfaces. With
a unique sense of style and a musical sound closer to the
Allman Brothers than Gar th Brooks, Canada and the other
three musicians of Cross Canadian Ragweed embody the
regional genre many know as Texas country.
On Monday, two true Texas country music stars found
themselves in an unusual setting: Cross Canadian Rag-
weed joined Robert Earl Keen in concert at the Houston
Livestock Show and Rodeo. Football stadium concerts
like these are generally reserved for the likes of The
Rolling Stones or Bon Jovi — rock groups able to till the
cavernous venues with energy and high volumes.
The show was a spectacle in every sense of the word.
True Texas country rarely shows its face in large venues
like Reliant Stadium. Places such as Gruene Hall near
Fredericksburg or the Firehouse here in Houston have
a more homegrown, dance hall feel. Texas music is de-
signed to tell a story to and for the audience, so interac-
tion between fans the performers is a must for the genre
— and an impossibility when the bands are performing
to such mammoth crowds.
So while the Rodeo is a nice annual change of scenery,
music fans should really go back to seeing Texas country
the way it is supposed to be seen: in small, local venues.
The following calendar lists upcoming, prominent local
concerts for the next month.
March 10 Django Walker
Firehouse Saloon
5930 Southwest Fwy.
March 10 Reckless Kelly
McGonigel's Mucky Duck
2425 Norfolk St.
March 11 Jimmy Kaiser
Goode's Armadillo Palace
5015 Kirby Dr.
March 17 Honeybrowne
Sugarland Town Square
15958 City Walk Dr.
March 23 Tres Womack
Pappasito's
13750 Southwest Fwy.
April 1 James McMurtry
The Continental Club
3700 Main St.
April 7 Phil Pritchett
Firehouse Saloon
5930 Southwest Fwy.
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CHARGED
YOU'
BY THE OUNCE,
BE BROKE.
Ckipctb
LOTSA DINNER. UTILE OINERO.
KIRBY & NOTTINGHAM
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Obermeyer, Amber. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 93, No. 22, Ed. 1 Friday, March 10, 2006, newspaper, March 10, 2006; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443086/m1/9/: accessed June 21, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.